Seeking Solace
by Sukaretto Yuki
Summary: Meet Shinobu. The younger sister of Itachi and Sasuke. Abandoned, guarded and quiet after years of carrying the burden of knowing she was unwanted. Now she's entering the academy, and she's not the only one who's alone. Full summary inside.
1. The reason

**Summary: **How would you live your life if you were an Orphan for the sole reason that you were girl? Meet Shinobu. The younger sister of Itachi and Sasuke. Abandoned, guarded and quiet after years of carrying the burden of knowing she was unwanted. How will she react upon entering the Ninja Academy and learning that she's not the only one who's alone. "_What prideful Uchiha would allow their children to be weak.. a girl.. you.. are weak._."

* * *

><p><strong>AN. I've decided to start on this fan-fiction now because I needed something with sadness instead of the happy high school fics. My mood is not exactly in the ups for the time being and now would be a great time to start this. I'll still be updating my other stories and I hope you'll enjoy this story. Also, all of the chapter names are song titles. I suggest listening to them. They're good songs! **

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer: I'm only saying this once, I don't own Naruto or any of the characters other than Shinobu and any other character I'll specify later in the AN's. I also don't own the songs that I'm using as the chapter titles.**

* * *

><p><em>"Fugaku.. I'm pregnant." The expectant mother looked up at her husband with nothing but love in her eyes.<em>

_"Hm, looks like Itachi will have a younger brother to compete with now." He smirked before kissing his wife gently on the forehead and walking away. 'he shouldn't have to be competition... he should be your son...' Mikoto thought as she sighed, gently rubbing her stomache. Itachi had turned out wonderfully, but he was nothing but a tool to his father. Mikoto didn't want a repeat of this.. she wanted a son or daughter who'm she could love without recieving a lecture from her husband. Wasn't a family supposed to be close knit?_

22 weeks later

_Mikoto was honestly afraid. She watched in silence as her husband stormed through the house, throwing things and slamming doors as he went. They had just come back from her first ultrasound. At first, he was extremely excited to learn that she was to conceive twins, but it was short lived. One of her children was to be a girl. She had fallen in love with the idea in seconds. A girl to teach, someone to help around the house. She wouldn't be completely alone, but Fugaku obviously disagreed._

_"A girl! How DARE you bring me a girl after all I've done for you." He had yelled, he was a smart man yet he had spoken as if it were her fault. As if she could control the gender of their baby. Of course, she would not argue. She never argued. That resulted in pain. Itachi didn't deserve to hear her pain, to be scarred by an unhappy home._

_"I'm sorry, Fugaku. I.." She had only paused a moment, not knowing how to continue. What was she supposed to say? It won't happen again? She didn't mean it? It's hard to apologize for something that isn't your fault. That moment was all it took for him to resume his rant._

_"I what? You're not sorry, I saw you smile! Do you want to dishonor our family? If we have a girl our family will be labeled as weak! I will not have weak children and this tiny -girl-" He spit the word at her. "Will never amount to anything near our boys!" He roared before slamming his hand through the wall. She flinch but tried to hide it with a bow in apology. He used to be nice, loving.. romantic; but it ended when he had his pride torn from him. When the other clan members labeled him as a weak link in the chain. He never did act the same. Why? Because she was labeled weak too. She became his excuse.. his weakness._

_"Please, Fugaku. You could train her to be strong.." She started, trying to save her young daughter from his rampage. "You could prove to the others that you are strong enough to make a girl.. the weaker human.. stronger than their sons." She supplied. Hopeing he would listen to her.. if he would not listen to reason.. she needed him to listen to her. She knew girls were not weak.. but he would never agree with that._

_"Make her stronger than their sons..?" He paused, contemplating the idea which was absurd in his eyes.. absurd, but not impossible. "And what if she failed us? Then we'd be the failures.. we'd become the weakest family. I will not be labeled as weak, nor will I tarnish Itachi with weak siblings." He finalised. Had she worded it differently, had he been calmer, the idea may have worked. But the man was too stubborn to have his mind change after that. _

_As the couple bickered and Fugaku yelled, they both remained oblivious to the young boy standing in the hall way. With eyes wide. He had known that he was going to have a sibling.. a brother as his father promised. He couldn't wait to have a baby brother.. to train with, to take care of, to show off to. He would sometimes imagine a sister and smile but knew it wasn't going to happen because his father said so. Why was his father so against having both the twins? A girl and a boy.. it would be perfect. He didn't understand. Then again, who could understand the antics and thoughts of a person who could not understand themselves. The young boy went back to his room. Mind reeling with the information._

18 weeks later

_"Please! Fugaku! Reconsider this! She's your child!" A crying Mikoto guarded her baby girl in her arms, knowing full well that if Fugaku didn't change his mind that she'd have no choice in the matter._

_"I said no! This household will not sport a weakness, even if it's living." He growled before giving the baby an icy glare. To him, she was unwanted, a nuisance, a weakness.. she was no child. She was a mistake._

_"She's your child.. s-she could still be strong!" Mikoto screamed, trying desperately to choke back tears. To her, she was adorable, she was strong, she was a luxary, she was a strength.. she was her child. Soon the sound of hand hitting flesh echoed through the room as Fugaku slapped his wife._

_"You're talking back to me? You have no right. You have two choices. Dispose of her.. or leave with her!" He yelled, furious with the actions she had shown against him, the actions he labeled as disprespect and disloyalty._

_"Dispose of her..? We can't just dispose of her! At least let me bring her to an orphanage!" She pleaded with the stubborn man she used to love._

_"No, I've already informed the hokage of her death. She died when she was born. Since you had an at home birth no one will know. Itachi will be told the same thing when he wakes up." He growled. "Just dump her in an ally way. It doesn't matter." He said with disinterest before turning to walk towards his bedroom. _

_'It's not supposed to work like this.. we were supposed to be a happy close knit family.. do family things and love each other and support each other.. not have Itachi fighting exhaustion to impress his father and earn a ghost like figure of love. Not have Sasuke be born to always compete and treat our daughter like trash because she's won't be strong..This isn't supposed to be happening!' She thought angrily to her self as she fought back more tears. Her daughter helplessly snuggled into her blanket, fast asleep despite their previous yelling._

_Walking down the abandoned roads with a small baby in her cloak gave her the privacy to openly cry. To stop fighting to be a good wife and just care for her child. A young girl who would grow up without her fathers love or her siblings protection. Without the hokage even knowing who she was. Mikoto cried until there were no tears left. She had already wrapped her daughter in bundles of blankets. She had fed her previous to coming and hoped she could be strong and wait for her. Despite her husband, she had decided to come back.. to care for her child on the streets. If just enough for her to survive. She'd be alone.. but she'd survive.. she is strong. That had been her reasoning. The young mother smiled through red, puffy eyes at her beautiful daughter. _

_"What are we going to call you.." She thought out loud, gently petting her child's head. "Shinobu..." She whispered after the long silence. "Endurance.. you'll survive this." She kissed her child's head before gently placing her in the shelter of a box laying on it's side, wrapped in blankets. She could only hope it wouldn't get too cold or rain. "I'll be back Shinobu.. I promise." She took one last look before running back towards her home. She had already taken too long._

3 years later.

_Although she had been beaten once or twice for leaving or being caught sneaking food out of the house, but Fugaku never really stopped her. Maybe he still had a soft spot for his daughter? If you'd call that soft. No one knows, not even the man himself. But as Shinobu and Sasuke grew up Mikoto couldn't help but feel awful. While one child was spoiled but expected to work hard another was barely living in the same ally way having trouble just learning to talk. She knew life wasn't fair.. but she hoped her daughter would forgive her one day. _

_She thought to herself as she walked down the familiar streets to the much bigger box that replaced the old one. A young girl wrapped in dirty, ripped blankets sitting there with a blank expression on her face. She looked emotionless. A small light was ignited though when she saw her mother. "Ma!" She cried, shakily standing to give her a hug. Shinobu hadn't learned to walk as soon as most children. She didn't express herself with words, but with actions, facial expressions and through her eyes. It broke Mikoto's heart, but at the same time she was proud. Her baby was strong. She was surviving._

_"Hi Shinobu. How are you, sweety?" Mikoto asked, gently caressing her daughter's back as they hugged._

_"Good, mama." She replied with a smile. Shivering as she gave up her blankets so she could get clean ones for her box and to keep warm. She stripped out of the clothing she wore without a word. Following their usual routine. It wasn't really clothing, just a pillow case with holes for her arms and head, but it helped keep her warm so she was happy. Whenever Mikoto came to see her she'd bring clean blankets and a flanel pillowcase along with food and some water and soap. She'd strip down and Mikoto would scrub off the dirt as best she could without hurting her daughter, then she would put on her clothes and snuggle into her box with her blankets. She had 4 blankts. A comforter to keep the bottom soft, a fuzzy blanket to keep the heat in, a blanket to snuggle under so it was like a nest and a tarp like blanket to pull over the box to protect her from the rain. Sure it wasn't much.. but to her.. it was home._

_The girl, now snuggled up in her 'home', now looked expectantly at her mother. She hadn't visited in just about a week so all Shinobu had to drink was rain water and she managed to get some bread from the garbage. Her mother pulled out a sandwich with lettuce and meat and gave it to her daughter. The young girl ate it quickly before taking the pills her mother handed to her. Mikoto always brought her vitamins and calcium pills to try and make up for the healthy food she lacked. Once Shinobu took them she happily drank from her water bottle which her mother refilled. _

_"Have you been doing good out here?" Mikoto asked quietly._

_"Yes, ma. Cold..blankets keep me warm." She explained._

_"That's good." Mikoto said, she knew it wasn't good. It was awful and she felt terrible, but she did what she could. She knew she was a horrible mother._

_"Mama.. you ok?" Shinobu asked quietly, sensing her mother's sadness._

_"Oh, nothing honey. I just.. missed you.. that's all." She smiled, hugging her. _

_"Mama.. can you read a story?" Shinobu looked up at her mother hopefully._

_"I'm sorry honey.. I don't have enough time.. I need to go back home.." She replied quietly, not looking directly at her daughter knowing she'd feel guilty._

_"Oh...ok.." Shinobu whispered quietly. "I love you, mama.." She said, giving her mom a hug and taking the sandwiches Mikoto gave her and sticking them in the corner of her box for later. Mikoto wiped away her tears and kissed her daughters forehead.. she knew she was disappointed.. but she couldn't help it. If she didn't get to the market to pick up the groceries then Fugaku would get suspicious and it would be longer before she could come back. If she wasn't caught, she could return within three days. She sighed, standing and walking away, her heart cracking at each small sob that echoed through the alley. No child deserved to cry because they were living like this.. no child deserved to live like this.._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I hope you liked the chapter. I'll update again soon. Also, this song is the reason by hoobastank**


	2. Mad World

**A/N: So it's been a little while. Three stories makes it a tad harder to update quickly. Especially if you're a procrastinator XD I hope you liked the last chapter. This chapter's song is Mad World by Gary Jules. It's pretty, I really like it. I'm going to try something a little bit different this time and actually write following the lyrics a bit. It won't be too noticeable because i'll have to slip in small parts in between not following the lyrics but I won't know how you like the change unless you review *wink wink nudge nudge oink oink* lol. Jk, it's up to you, either way. TO THE STORY!**

* * *

><p><strong>*NOTE: Shinobu was 3 at the end of the last chapter and is roughly 6 at the beginning of this chapter. She is 7 at the end of this chappy.*<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

Shinobu walked down familiar ally ways along Konoha. She had woken up early and needed to go find food. Unfortunately for her there was nothing in her usual garbage can. She walked in silence, avoiding the eyes of the familiar faces that passed her. They disliked her. Though she never knew why. They would glare, some going out of their way to trip her or beat her away from their shops with brooms. Screaming things about her filth being bad for business. Few were nice to her, but she made sure to smile at them in thanks whenever they were. There were three people who she knew she could trust. The two people at Ichiraku and the young boy who handed out papers near the village gates.

She sighed, heading towards Ichiraku, noticing the cobblestone rode's erosion and wear from everyone walking on it. Not like she had anything better to notice. Her mother hadn't visited in two weeks. She remembered what her mother last said as if she were still saying it.

_"You're getting older and I'm not going to be around as much anymore.. I need you to start learning how to get your own food.. ok sweetie?" She had a small smile. Shinobu had nodded at the time, not thinking her mother's absence would be for so long._

She sniffled, wiping tears from her eyes. She knew crying was weak.. but she couldn't help it sometimes. She missed her mom.. she wished she had a proper home. She had long out grown her box and had to staple them together to create a small shelter. She was gather old nails and wood but she didn't have enough to attempt to build a small shelter yet. Her blankets grew dirty and her pillow case was starting to seem smaller. She wished for so much.. but she knew wishing would get her no where. She hung her head in shame, hiding her tears. She was already doing all she could to improve her life on her own. She'd get there.. someday.

A small smile graced the small girls lips as she reached Ichiraku's. She often would take the trash out or run errands for them as a trade for food. They'd give her food anyway but she always felt bad taking it for free. So she started refusing it unless they'd allow her to help.

"Hey, Shinobu!" The young girl inside smiled. She was maybe ten years old?

"Hey, Ayame!" Shinobu replied with an eager wave as her smile widened. "Anything I can do to help out?"

"Mhmm! Pa wants to give you something first though." Ayame gave the young girl an innocent grin.

"Oh.. but.. I haven't done anything lately?" Shinobu looked up in confusion as she found herself being dragged through the back entrance to see the old man who she fondly referred to as her grandfather.

"Shinobu! I was wondering when you were going to drop by!" The man said with a grin before scooping up giggling Shinobu into a hug. It was these times where she felt loved.. where she had her little family.

"Sorry it took so long Ojii-san." She smiled. "So what's my next job?"

"Well it's related to what I'm giving you." He smiled before sitting her on a counter. "I've gotten you some new clothes." He smiled gesturing to 3 outfits which were all pretty much the same along with a white apron that had "Ichiraku's Ramen" written across the front with a small ramen bowl tilted under it. Shinobu felt tears forming along her waterline as she hugged the man.

"Thank you! I love them!" She hugged him.

"I'm glad you like them. I also got you the apron so when you help around people will know you're an official worker, plus you've wanted to help with deliveries recently and I think you can handle that with Ayame. So you can wear the apron when you're working with us." He smiled as she looked at it. She was against picking them up right now because she was filthy.

"Would you mind if I go bath before I put them on to work with you? I don't want to get them dirty." She said, looking up at him.

"Haha, of course Shinobu! We'll see you when you get back, but have you eaten yet? You can eat first if you'd like, or after it's up to you." He grinned. She smiled before hugging him and grabbing one of the outfits and letting him know she'd like to change first. All three outfits were jean overalls with t-shirts. The only difference is that one T-shirt was dark blue, one was light blue and one was white. She grabbed the dark blue one.

She couldn't help the grin that complimented her features as she ran towards the lake. She had found it a while ago and started bathing near the dock their, she could hide under the dock and avoid being seen. She skidded to a halt when she got there and stripped down. Leaving her running shoes along with her new outfit. Ayame bought them for her fourth birthday. She splashed into the water taking her pillowcase with her. It was flanel so she could still use it as a small blanket.

Once she finished she shook the water droplets from her skin beforee climbing into her new clean clothes. She stuck her hands in her pockets to find two small hair elastics which she used to put her hair up into pig tails. She quickly grinned at her reflection in the lake before running back to the ramen stall.

"Ojii-san! I'm back!" She cried out, walking through the back door and to the area behind the counter to see him talking to a blond haired boy.

"Oh, Shinobu! You look so cute!" Ayame giggled, hugging her before Shinobu's Ojji-san picked her up and set her on the stool next to the blond boy.

"It looks good on you, better than your old clothes." Tseuchi agreed before handing the girl a big bowl of ramen.

"I haven't done anything yet, Ojii-san!" She protested.

"Oh you can work it off after words by running some deliveries with Ayame. Don't worry about it right now. Eat." He smiled as she grinned before breaking a pair of chopsticks and eating. She quietly noticed the young boy sitting beside her. His once booming laughter quieted as he slurped his ramen. He wore the brightest orange she's ever seen. She paid less attention as she finished up and hopped the counter to get her apron on.

"So where are we going first?" She asked.

"Oh, just a small house in the Uchiha compound." Ayame replied with a smile, not noticing Shinobu's sudden freeze in posture. Shinobu strapped the ramen heater onto her back before following Ayame to the compound. Ayame tried to wear it but Shinobu protested saying it would be good for her strength, earning a chuckle from her grandpa.

"You can knock if you want." Ayame grinned at Shinobu, trying to get her to say something as they arrived at the right house. She had been quiet for the majority of the walk. Her mind reeling, which was unknown to Ayame.

"Uhm.. Ok.." She whispered, taking a deep breath before knocking on the door before her.

"One minute!" A boy shouted from inside the house. She was soon greeted with the sight of a young boy, probably her elder by a good five years. His face seemed aged slightly for his age and his hair had a small pony tail. Shinobu hid a gasp.. she was brought face to face with her older brother. He didn't seem to notice.

"Oh, the ramen. One second. SASUKE! GET DOWN HERE! THE FOOD'S HERE!" He yelled up, earning a groan and a "why did we have to get ramen?".

"Don't complain Sasuke." An older male said before opening the door a little bit before looking at Shinobu and Ayame. His eyes soft for a moment before turning into a deadly glare. Shinobu bit her lip to avoid whimpering. _This is my daddy.. why doesn't he want me..? _She quickly decided to be strong.

"It was four servings?" She asked as she took off the back pack and grabbed their food, handing it to her father. Determination making her eyes sparkle.

"Ya.. Here.. you can keep the change, and for future notice. I will not pay if you are my deliverer again. Get someone else." He growled as he slammed the door. Shinobu looked up in slight shock, tears prickling at her eyes.

"That wasn't very nice of him.. don't worry Shinobu.. it probably wasn't anything personal." Ayame tried to assure her as they started on their way back. Oblivious to the inner turmoil her younger friend was going through.

"Ya.." Was all Shinobu could say.

When they got back to the stand she gave Tseuchi the money before giving them each a quick hug goodbye. The blond wasn't there anymore. She walked away at a leisurely pace until she was out of their sight. Then she proceeded to run home as fast as her small legs would take her. Tears blurring her vision. _What have I ever done wrong? Why wasn't I good enough? I'm strong! _She almost ran into the end of the ally when she skidded to a stop, leaning over to catch her breath. She quickly snuggled into her oversized box and promptly cried herself to sleep.

* * *

><p><em><span>A year later<span>_

_"Sweet heart! It's time for dinner!" The young girl heard her mother call as she played in their backyard with her twin brother._

_"Race you back!" The boy yelled before sprinting off in the direction of the house._

_"No fair! You had a head start!" She cried after him as she ran. He won of course, a triumphant smirk covering his features. His onyx eyes sparkling._

_"I did not!" He pouted._

_"Ok ok. Enough. Let's go eat." A slightly older boy shushed them, rolling his eyes as he lead them to the table where their mother was waiting with delicious food. The girl sat between her two siblings as her mother went to get their father who showed up with a small proud smile directed at each of his children before looking at her._

_"What are you doing here? You don't belong.." He spit out. _

_"Why..why daddy?" She asked, confusion flitting across her onyx eyes._

_"You're weak." He replied simply. She tried to protest but was instantly cut off. "What prideful Uchiha would allow their children to be weak.. a girl.. you.. are weak.."_ _The man said, picking up the knife beside his plate. For a moment the girl looked relieved, as if she thought they would just eat dinner.. like a family. He proved her wrong._

_"I can't allow you to be here.. I will not let you taint our family." He replied with small, evil grin. Her eyes widened as her heart panged in sadness. She looked up as her father lifted the knife above her, and brought it down. She continued to watch in silence as her world faded, her family eating dinner as if nothing happened. Smiling.. laughing.. without her. She let the darkness wash over her. She welcomed the peace.. it was the only time that her heart didn't hurt.. that she didn't worry about being unwanted..._

Shinobu awoke with a small, much needed gasp as she felt air enter her lungs. She had been holding her breath in her sleep. She sighed before snuggling into the pillow and hugging it. She knew her father didn't want her.. but it hurt to have to hear him repeat it every night. Yet, even though her dream wasn't what one would normally classify as happy, she giggled. She thoroughly enjoyed that small moment of peace when the darkness overtook her. When she could no longer feel her heart hurt.. she couldn't feel it yearn for the love she never had.

Her mother had stopped visiting her roughly five and a half weeks ago. She had mentioned family issues but said they didn't concern her. _So I guess I'm not part of the family.. _ Shinobu couldn't help but feel her mother had changed her mind too, that she didn't want her anymore.

Shinobu lay there for a few more moments before standing and getting dressed in her much loved overalls. These dreams and feelings haunted her but she never let them stop her from living her life. Today was her birthday and she was determined to at least act happy. She just turned seven. She walked slowly, with a small smile, to the local park. It was early morning and she wanted to play. To be a kid. She sat silently on one of the swings, watching the other children play with each other and with their families.

"Do you want to play with me?" She asked a young boy who had walked by her.

"No.. My mom told me to stay away from you. Sorry." The boy looked apologetic before running off to play with another kid. She sighed.. it was always like this.. the whispers.. the cold glares.. the loneliness.. She never understood what she had done wrong. Shinobu sat and listened to the innocent laughter all around her before getting up and making her way to the Ichiraku ramen stall. She knew she could feel normal there. She could feel loved.

She finally reached the stall to see it closed down with a small sign on the front "Closed due to family outing. P.s Shinobu, the package in back is for you." She sighed and made her way to the back door, fishing through the plants to find the spare key to let herself in. There was a small wrapped present sitting on the counter. She gingerly picked it up before carefully tearing the paper away. It was a small gift card for the local hardwear store. There was a note on the counter too.

"I know you've been trying to gain nails and scrap wood. Enjoy whatever it is you're building :D" is what it read. She never told them she was homeless. They just knew she was an orphan. They assumed she had belonged with an orphanage and she never corrected them.

She quickly locked up and made her way to the hard ware store. The idea of a nice shelter was amazing right now. Ayame had taught her math and she had enough to build a house the took up the width of the ally way. A bedroom with a small bed to keep her off the floor. With a shelf in the wall to put her small amount of stuff. To her it would be amazing. So much bigger than her last make shift house.

She walked in, ignoring stares as she picked up supplies, she borrowed a hammer from Tseuchi so she only needed nails and wooden planks. The clerk almost rejected her payment but to him, money was money. It didn't matter if it came from garbage trash.. right?

"Happy birthday Shinobu.." She whispered to herself as she got to her ally way, hauling all of the supplies and gaining several splinters in her hands.

She wasn't particularily good at this but she somehow managed to start getting the house built. It had a floor and a roof and four walls. One wall had a small doggy door so no one except her would enter. She made a slight raise to substitute a bed incase the floor got soggy. Then she's be dry. The shelves were attached to the wall and she had her shoes laying on them along with her folded clothes and clean blankets. Her bed was made as she snuggled into it. Her arms sore from the days work. She drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

><p>Shinobu awoke slowly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. It had been two weeks since her birthday and she still hadn't heard from her mother, nevermind gotten a simple happy birthday. It hurt but she chose to ignore it. She knew it would happen eventually and she knew she could survive with out her mother. Shinobu got dressed and crawled out of her house.<p>

Shinobu walked slowly through the streets, unnoticed by most of the villagers. Some giving her the odd glare. To them, she was just street filfth after all. She continued to walk until she was at the newspaper stand. The boy there was always kind to her, giving her a free newspaper as she slowly learned to read.

"Hi Shinobu. How are you today?" He asked.

"Good. You?" She responded with a small smile. This was one of the few times when she was talking to someone besides her mother that she felt comfortable.

"Good. Here's your paper." He smiled, handing her a paper and she froze for a moment. Recognizing one of the first words she learned to read. 'Uchiha'. But she didn't understand the word after it. She skimmed seeing words she understood like 'and' and bad. She realised something was wrong and a lump started forming in her through when she saw two names. "Sasuke" and "Itachi". The picture was one of her mothers house. With a white drawing of the outline of a body.

"Kabuto..? What does massacre mean?" Shinobu looked up at the boy with glasses, barely sounding out the word properly.

"Oh.." He looked at her for a moment, as if contemplating something for a moment. "It's when someone or multiple people kill a large number of people. See those two names there?" He asked pointing to her siblings names. "They're the only survivors." He explained, not noticing the tears welling up in her eyes.

"O-oh.. ok.. u-um. Thanks.. I need to go.. home.." She choked out.

She spent the remainder of the day crying, she let her tears fall as if she would never get to cry again. She hugged her pillow and she realised, that for the first time.. she was completely alone.. and for the second time in two weeks, the young girl cried herself to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I hope you liked my second Chapter, it was fun to write and hopefully I'll be able to slow things down a bit. I realize that her life has been rushed so far. That's because I'm not trying to dwell on her past. She'll have flash backs in the future to explain some things but the important part really starts when she's eight. Also a note: I suck at angst and sadness and stuff so forgive me I am trying!**


	3. Creep

**A/N: Ok, here's my third chapter. Things will start slowing down a bit now. This is the first story in which I've only planned a little bit ahead. (Normally I have it planned to the end before I start writing the chapters.) So I'm completely open to suggestions, friendships, plot ideas and future pairings! (Although I do have some things in mind.)**

**Enjoy the story :D**

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

The young girl woke with start, sweat glistening on her flawless, pale skin. She took a deep breath in a failed attempt to stop her trembling. Shakily, she threw off her covers from her make-shift bed and made her way to the shelf which held her clothes.

* * *

><p><em>"Look at me...! LOOK AT ME!" Her brother yelled, not to her.. but to her twin brother. She saw him, staring at the bodies of their dead parents. One glimpse of his horror filled eyes made her look away. It broke her heart to see the pain those dull eyes had held. Tears looking oddly out of place on his beautiful features. He looked like a broken angel without wings.. The boy looked up at their older brother before letting out another pitiful sob.<em>

* * *

><p>She shook her head as if the memory of the dream would shake off like sand. <em>Why was he the special one.. we were twins.. what's the difference.. That I'm a girl? <em>I growled to herself before crawling out of her shelter and making her way to the lake. _I wish I was special.._ The girl made her way towards the lake. She didn't know why, but a lingering feeling of need had pushed her there. Her mind not really following.

"Katon! Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" She heard a voice echo through the rather deserted area before she had to shield her face from heat. There was a gigantic fireball hovering over the entire lake. The moment it faded it out she lowered her hands and stared in awed shock. Her brother was standing on the dock, panting. _What's he doing here..? _She knew Itachi left after another newspaper came out. Apparently he was the one who massacred the entire clan. She hadn't seen her twin since the first paper came out.

She was pulled from her thoughts when the same phrase was repeated and the fireball reappeared. Quickly shielding herself, she hid in a small bush. Watching her brother, she started to notice that he wasn't just blowing out fire. Which until now she had thought impossible, he was making a series of hand signs first, muttering the names of them under his breath.

She had learned to read lips thanks to Kabuto. He told her it would be a useful skill later in life. But it was hard to make it out from her distance. What she made out was "Snake, Tiger, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger". She could make out the hand seals for Snake, Tiger, Boar and Horse but she was endlessly confused when it came to Monkey. Shinobu couldn't tell which hand was facing up, or if a hand was facing up. It was confusing.

Shinobu watched in slight awe as he managed to do it again before sitting down and panting. He looked over the water before swiveling to look behind him. A familiar blond boy was walking by, Sasuke refused to look at him. They both had small smiles as he walked away._Who is he..? He's the one from the ramen stall.. right? _She wondered as she crept closer to see that last seal. She wanted to try.. if he could do it.. she should be able to do it to.. right?

She snuck into the water under the dock so she could watch his reflection and she'd remain unharmed. Also, he wouldn't see her. She watched him do the hand seals, catching them all before ducking under water as the water started to get warm. She kept her eyes open, watching the light flicker across the water.

Soon the fireball disappeared and when she went up, her brothers reflection was gone. She got out of the water and looked all around her but he was no where to be seen. Shinobu sighed before making her way to the edge of the dock where her brother was standing.

"Ok.. um.. Snake... Tiger.. Monkey..? Boar.. Horse.. and Tiger." She murmered to herself as she repeated the hand signs her brother had been doing she concentrated for a minute before getting a small tingly feeling and than repeated the name of the jutsu.

"Katon.. Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" She whispered harshly, not wanting to alert any one in case they saw her mess up. Before she knew it she was hunched over coughing up a load of smoke. _What did I do wrong? _She coughed. She was immediately angry with herself. I don't get it.. She was sick of feeling like she didn't belong. Sick of feeling like she couldn't do anything right. What she didn't know is that what she had done was better than almost all beginners. For the first time using chakra she was able to create the smoke of a fire jutsu? It was impressive. Of course, she didn't know so she angrily cursed herself and went through the hand signs again.

"Katon! Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" She spoke this time before entering another coughing fit as smoke engulfed her surroundings from view. _AGH! What am I doing wrong? _She bit her lip before trying several more times, each time getting similar results. After her ninth try she jumped into the water, trying to get the smell of smoke out of her hair and clothes. She drank some and to sooth her now sore throat.

Shinobu repeated this process for several hours before something happened. She ran through the hand signs and began.

"KATON! GOUKAKYUU NO JUTSU!" She yelled, she realized after a while that no one was around to watch her anyway. When she went to blow out the usual smoke cloud she was shocked to see a small flame ball hovering out over the edge of the dock.

"Yes!" She cried in joy before collapsing into a sitting position on the edge of the dock. After several hours she was close to falling asleep and she hadn't eaten anything. She forced her tired legs towards Ichiraku, not bothering to wash off the soot type substance from her clothes and face. A small smirk of success never leaving the exhausted girls lips.

"Shinobu? What happened to you?" Ayame cried in worry when the young girl walked in and placed herself on a stool.

"Training..!" She tried to exclaim but it was mixed with a gigantic yawn.

"Training for what?" The ramen assistant asked in confusion.

"To get stronger! I was practicing a.. what was it called.. a jutsu?" She told her uncertainly.

"So you want to be a ninja, now, do you?" Tseuchi asked with a chuckle as he brought her a bowl of ramen.

"What's a ninja?" Shinobu asked, her eyebrows knitted as she racked her brain, trying to figure out where she had heard the term before.

"A ninja is someone who fights to protect their village! I'm gonna be the Hokage some day! The strongest ninja there is!" A boy yelled with a grin as he sat on the stool next to her, quickly recieving a bowl of ramen.

"Hi, Naruto-kun! Shinobu, this is Naruto, one of our regular customers." Ayame smiled.

"Hey, Shinobu! Are you in the ninja academy?" He asked while shoveling ramen into his mouth.

"Hn. No." She said monotonously, her expression going blank.

"You sound like Teme... whatever.. see ya 'round." He grinned and ran off, leaving money on the counter.

"What was that Shinobu?" Tseuchi asked curiously.

"I don't trust him.. that's all. Thanks for the meal.. I uh.. am tired. I'm gonna go sleep." She whispered before leaving the story, a couple of coins on the counter.

_A ninja? Maybe I could be a Shinobi... It may have taken me a while to learn the jutsu... but if I'm strong maybe I'll be more accepted.. I could protect the village.. _She thought, mind reeling as she made her way home.

* * *

><p>For the next several days Shinobu trained and trained, working on that jutsu finally on the third day of practice day at lunch time she managed. Watching in awe as her own fire ball covered the lake in a shiny orange hue. <em>I did it.. <em>She let go of laughter. She didn't care if her hands were burnt and her lips were charred. She didn't care that her knees were wobbling from exhaustion. She wanted to become stronger. She wanted to have the same control that he managed. She would show him that she was strong. She would be the perfect ninja. She would make people recognize her.

She soon heard shrieking and curious, she followed the sound of squealing pigs, or so she thought, until she came to a clearing in the near by woods. Sasuke was training a little ways away and there was a huge crowd of girls giggling and squealing as they watched him._What the hell makes him so special..? Not like he's doing anything I couldn't do.._ She thought, watching the boy do push ups. She had endurance, from practice at running away from mad villagers. She had stealth from stealing small apples and bread. She could beat him.

Shinobu watched in silence from behind the crowd. Trying to ignore their whispers and giggles when one caught her ear.

"I wonder if he'd let me touch his muscles." Girl 1 asked.

"Ya, right. No one here would ever walk up to him." Girl 2 responded.

"Why not?" Shinobu asked, walking towards them. "He's just a boy. He's not anything special." She muttered in slight annoyance._What.. why are they looking at me like that._

"Just a boy? He's god! He's so handsome and cute and strong! He's a ninja genius!" Girls left right and center started adding to the list of things that made Sasuke so "godly".

"Even so. Why can't you just talk to him instead of being a bunch of creeps and watching him?" Shinobu asked, feeling a bit like a hypocrite considering she had been watching him to. She was just as much of a creep or weirdo as the rest of them. Even if it was for different reasons.

"Because! W-well.." The first girl stuttered and Shinobu rolled her eyes before making her way to Sasuke. She didn't talk to him, or even look at him, she simply dropped into a plank beside him and started doing push-ups so that they were in time. She could practically hear the other girls gawking. She heard him stop after around fifty push-ups but she didn't care. She was going to be strong, so she was not going to stop. Even if she could feel her muscles trembling, she kept pushing herself.

She stopped and moved to a sitting position, panting slightly as she switched to sit-ups. She watched as he started taijutsu stances. He repeated the same ones so she analyzed his movements trying to get it through her brain. She slowly stood up and followed his movements, oblivious to his glance because she was too focused. She started off slow before quickly speeding up to match his pace. Unlike Ninjutsu she seemed to have a knack for this. It reminded her of dancing.

They continued for a short while, it was starting to get dark so most of the girls were gone. She noticed him give her one last blank look before slowly straightening himself out and leaving. She didn't stop. She didn't want him to think she was only there because of him. She kept practicing the taijutsu stances until she felt confident she could do them flawlessly.

She slowly lowered her body to the ground with a small "oomph". _He doesn't seem to like me... at least he didn't leave right away.. he's probably do that if I just annoyed him.. Was I too weak for him to train with?_

"Oi! Who do you think you are? Training with my Sasuke-kun!" A girl with black hair and fringe bangs asked with her nose stuck in the hair.

"Hn.. I was just training. It's not a crime." She replied with a glare.

"Well stay away from him. Bitch. He's too good for filth like you." She scoffed.

"And you are?" Shinobu retorted, anger burning in her eyes. _I am good enough.. no one is going to tell me I'm weak! Not when they don't know me._

"Yes. Now leave." The girl growled.

"Why should I?" Shinobu asked.

"Because I told you to!" She shrieked and leaned down to pick something up. Before she knew what was happening Shinobu was hit hard in the eye with a rock. She gave one last teary eyed look of anger before running away from the clearing, letting tears roll down her cheeks.

She ran, running away from the pain.. running away from the fear.. she knew she was a coward but at the moment she didn't care. She ran all the way to the park before she tripped over a hole in the ground, scraping her hands and knees as she fell. The young girl turned around and cried. She bawled like a baby as she sat, shaking in the middle of the empty park.

"Are you ok..?" A blond girl startled her, making her jump as she furiously wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Y-ya." Shinobu sniffed, trying her best to look emotionless. Which was particularily difficult when your eyes are puffy and there are tears streaking down your face.

"Here.." The girl said softly, handing her a small flower. "You look sad.. I know flowers always cheer me up when I'm sad." She smiled. "My name's Ino. What's yours?"

"Shinobu.." She muttered. Staring at the flower suspiciously.

"Why are you crying?" Ino asked. Shinobu looked up to see honest blue eyes staring back in concern. Deciding to trust the girl she explained how the girl attacked her for training with Sasuke.

"Oh... well ignore them. They're just stupid fangirls.." She told Shinobu with a faint blush. "By the way. Do you go to the ninja academy? I think I would have recognized you."

"No.. I don't.." Shinobu mumbled.

"Well you should if you can keep up with Sasuke. It's right over there." She said pointing to the large building. "I'm sure they'd let you in. Maybe I'll see you there sometime. But I gotta go for now. Bye!" She smiled and waved.

Shinobu waved, watching the girl leave before making her way back to her home to think things through.._ Maybe I should join the academy.. I can prove myself and get proper training.. _She imagined the academy and the look of shock on Sasuke's face. That night, for the first time, she fell asleep with a small smile gracing her lips.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I hope you enjoyed this chappy :D I enjoyed writing it. The song is Creep by Radiohead.**


	4. Iris

**A/N: This song is Iris by the goo goo dolls. It seems like a romantic song but I mean it in a sibling way. (anything Naruto related in here is friendship currently. They're 7 right now remember? girls have cooties. Or boys. Depends on what gender you are XD) Enjoy the chappy.**

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

_Today's the day. _Shinobu thought to herself as she made her way to the Hokage mansion. She had talked to Ayame the other day and found out that the only way to get into the academy was by talking to the teachers, the Hokage or being apart of a ninja clan. Since her clan was dead and she didn't technically exist she had opted to talking with the Hokage. She didn't want to enter the school incase she saw someone she knew.

She made her way to the large building but as she approached the door she was stopped by two ninjas. She had studied from the library and judging by their vests and their age they were probably chunin.

"What are you doing here?" One asked.

"I'm here to bring an important matter to Hokage-sama's attention." Shinobu replied, trying to sound as official as possible. She kept her face emotionless.

"And what would that be?" The other asked with a sneer.

"That would be classified. If the Hokage wanted you to know, he'd tell you." She replied, still emotionless but a glint of sarcasm underlying her words.

"Ugh.. brat.. Why I oughta!" He started but got interupted by the obviously nicer of the two.

"Oi! Aiko. She's given enough information for her age. It's fine, just let her in." He reasoned.

"Fine.." He muttered.

"Good day." Shinobu replied with a smirk to the nasty ninja before making her way into the building. She wasn't quite sure where she was going but she was just going to look for a big important looking door. It wasn't long before she came across one that fit the bill. Taking a shaky breath she pounded her fist into the door.

"Come in." A calm, older voice said. Shinobu opened the door and walked in, closing it quietly behind her before kneeling and bowing.

"Hokage-sama.. may I have a word?" She asked. She didn't know much about the whole kage business but she knew it was important to be polite and formal.

"My.. you don't have to bow." He said with a chuckle and Shinobu looked up in shock. "Take a seat, I was finding this paperwork rather hard on the old hands anyway." He smiled at her. _He reminds me of Ojii-san.. he's so nice.. his eyes even sparkle! _She thought, refraining from letting her emotions show on her face.

"Thank you.." She nodded before taking a seat.

"So what is it you want young one?" He asked, his tone holding a love she rarely heard from strangers.

"W-well.. I.." She stuttered, she hadn't expected to be able to see him so she didn't really prepare past the whole getting in stage. "I was i-informed that to register at the academy I would have to speak with you." She stammered.

"You wish to join now? It's a little later than most." He mused.

"I learn quick! I could still do it!" She almost shouted with wide eyes, thinking he was refusing her. She quickly realised she had shouted at one of the great Kages and stuttered an apology.

"It's alright. I was just surprised, you haven't come with parents either. Are they at work?" He asked with a chuckle.

"N-no.. they're dead.." She whispered.

"Oh.. I'm sorry." His eyes showed true concern. "What is your name? May I ask?"

"Shinobu..." She responded, contemplating letting him know, she had decided against it earlier. But he seemed so trust worthy.

"And your last name?" He asked, his eyes glinted with knowledge.

"I um.. do I need to tell you?" She asked, unsure of his reactions.

"Well.. no.. but it would be nice to know." He chuckled.

"Shinobu Uchiha.." She muttered looking away. He looked dumbstruck for a moment before responding.

"How is it that I don't know of you then? Sasuke was the only survivor.." He muttered more to himself.

"I'm the daughter of Mikoto and Fugaku.. I believe they told you I died at birth.." She whispered, willing herself not to cry.

"Hmm.. well I am sorry that I didn't meet you.. so you are Sasuke's twin sister? Younger in age if I recall correctly." He asked.

"Yes sir. That's true, but he doesn't know that. Nobody knows except you sir." She replied, attempting to shake the tears out of her eyes.

"Well, I apologize on behalf of the village.. that must have been terrible." He looked at her before coming around to give her a hug. She could feel warmth and love and shock. She hadn't expected this.

"Thank you.. Ojii.. uh.. Hokage-sama." She stopped herself, she had almost called her grandpa.

"You can call me Ojii-san if you'd like Shinobu. I don't mind, you wouldn't be the first." He replied with a heart warming smile. "Now, onto your entry into the academy, I'm assuming you have no former training.. so what do you know?"

"Well.. I used the library and taught myself a little bit. I know about chakra and I can perform one jutsu. I know some of the basic taijutsu stances." She explained as she got out of her chair to show him the stances she had learned from Sasuke. When he chuckled she looked embarrassed. _Have I done it wrong? _She wondered.

"Well, my dear, those aren't basic. Those are some of the more advanced stances. Although for learning on your own you have come far. I see no problem with you joining the school. I will inform Iruka. He will be your teacher. Now onto other matters." He replied with a smile. He never really took off the smile, it was as if it was glued to his face. She giggled at her thoughts.

"What matters?" She asked, her giggling now stopped. Confusion taking it's place.

"Well, I'm interested to know how you've been living since you were born. Where are you living now?" He asked.

"Well.. when I was younger mom would come down to the ally way where she left me and bring me food.. she would bath me and I wore pillow cases with holes in them. I slept in a big box with blankets. There was a tarp overtop to keep the rain out. I lived in boxes until I turned seven. Ayame and Ojii-san from the Ramen shop gave me a birthday card which had some money in it. They didn't know I lived in boxes but they gave me free ramen. I love ramen." She giggled before she continued. "I built my own wood house with shelves and a bed in the ally. That's where I live now. I like it there." She smiled, obviously proud of herself.

"Well you did well. I have no spare housing currently but I'll work on getting you a home to stay in. Alright Shinobu?" He asked, his grim expression turning into a small smile.

"Really?" She asked, in shock and joy.

"Yes." He grinned as the girl ran over and gave him a big hug.

"Thank you so much! Also.. does that mean I'm gonna be in the academy now..? I'll get a chance to be a ninja?" She asked, thinking it was almost too good to be true.

"Yes. You can start tomorrow. The classes start at nine in the morning. You know where the academy is am I right?" He asked.

"Yup! Thank you so much. I appreciate your time." She grinned trying to remain polite.

"No, thank you. It was a pleasure to meet you." He said honestly, waving as the young girl practically skipped from his office.

* * *

><p><strong>Hokage POV<strong>

_I can't believe he did that.. I knew he was about power.. but never to this extreme _The Hokage thought rubbing his temples. A grim expression on his features. She was very similar to Naruto. She seemed happy the moment she trusted him.

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

"AYAME! OJII-SAN!" Shinobu yelled into the ramen stall before hopping the counter.

"What is it Shinobu?" Tseuchi asked, smiling as he prepared a bowl of ramen for her.

"I talked to the Hokage and he was really, really, really nice! He's letting me join the academy and he's gonna by me a house!" She squealed in excitement.

"That's amazing Shinobu. But why is he buying you a house?" He asked in wonder.

"Well I used to live in a box, like I did when I met you and then you gave me my birthday present and I built a small wooden room to live in but he wants me to live in a proper house. Like with a bathroom and a shower and a kitchen!" She explained, to caught up in her excitement to notice the look of sorrow and pity the old ramen chef wore.

"Good for you Shinobu." He hugged her, giving her a smile.

"I'll let you know how my first day goes ok?" She grinned as she ate her ramen on a stool behind the counter.

"I wouldn't expect anything less." He chuckled as he gave her extra toppings.

"Ojii-chan.. what's with the extra toppings?" She asked in confusion.

"It's a special occasion. You deserve it." He grinned.

"Thanks!" Shinobu smiled before digging in.

* * *

><p>The girl woke up bright and early at the crack of dawn. A bright smile never leaving her face. Today was her first day of academy and she couldn't wait. She could become so much stronger this way; and she'd get to see Sasuke. She raced as fast as she could towards the lake with her clothes to take a bath. She had gotten fast after several times delivering ramen with the heater on her back. It was great for endurance. Her clothes were dirty but she still had a couple of hours.<p>

Once she got to the lake she immediately jumped into the cold water, letting the chill wake her up completely. She hummed quietly to herself as she splashed under the dock, scrubbing at the dirt in her clothes before jumping up to lay them on the dock to dry as she washed off.

"I'm walking on sunshine..wooah! I'm walking on sunshine.. Woaah!" She sang quietly, before hopping out of the water and shaking like a dog to get the water off. She quickly rang her hair out before getting dressed and tieing it up so it wouldn't drip on her clothes. Shinobu decided to put it up into a pony tail today since pigtails made her look a lot younger yet she didn't want her hair in the way of training. She shook her hair once more time to get any more water droplets out before making her way back to where the shops were in town. She planned on buying a new set of shoes along with a good ninja type outfit. One she could train and fight in without having restrictions. She only had jean overalls right now but she had a little extra money from ramen runs.

Once Shinobu reached down town she went into a story known for selling ninja weapons and clothes. She immediately made her way to the clothing section before picking up a pair of black ninja sandels. She quickly picked out two pairs of black stretchy capris, two navy blue tank tops and a shuriken holster. She ran to the front counter to buy them before running back to her ally to change and dispose of her other clothes. She attached the shurilen holster. She didn't have any weapons but it was good to have. She could buy weapons later. She took out a pair of wool gloves that she had bought when she was younger and cut the finger tips off before putting them on. That way she wouldn't get blisters or anything during training. She had plenty of gloves after picking up odd disposed ones that it wasn't a loss.

"Today, I'm going to begin training and I'm going to become strong. Today, I'm going to begin fighting for myself. Today.. I'm going to prove my worth." She repeated to herself. It was her own little pep talk. She could put on a strong face but that didn't change the fact that she was nervous and scared. It didn't bug her though. She learned recently that being afraid doesn't make you weak. There was a big difference between weak, fearless and brave and strong. Being brave and strong means facing your fears. If you were fearless you could never be brave. The only way she could be weak is if she stopped facing her troubles. If she ran, then she'd be weak.

She absent mindedly played with her gloves as she made her way to the academy. She wanted to get there early so that she could meet the teacher before there was an audience of class mates. She looked up at the building. There was a swing on a tree in the rather large yard and there were lots of windows on the side of the building. When she opened the door it creaked a little bit. She slid it shut before her before making her way through the building.

"Hello? What are you doing in here? It's not time for classes yet." A young man with a scar across his nose asked.

"Hn..." She paused, she didn't want to be rude, Hokage-sama told her that he was really nice and worth trusting... "Um.. I'm Shinobu. Are you Iruka-sensei?" She asked nervously.

"Yes. The Hokage told me you were coming. If you like I can show you around?" He asked and she nodded tentively, earning a chuckle from him. "No need to be shy. I don't bite."

"Sorry, sensei. I'm just.. not really good with the whole interacting with people I don't know thing." She mumbled, embarrassed.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it when you start interacting with classmates. By the way, this is the academy class you'll be in for the most part. The gym is the first door you saw downstairs and then most of our training is outside. Girls learn to cook and clean and arrange flowers as well but that won't be with me." He explained.

"Wait.. why just girls.. isn't that a bit unfair?" Shinobu asked curiously.

"Well.. girls are less likely to succeed during this.. so if they fail we want them prepared to live a life outside of the ninja world as a civilian." He explained.

"Oh.. well.. I'm attending as a boy then." She huffed.

"But you're a girl." He asked, curious as to why she said that.

"Not anymore. I'm gonna succeed. I don't want to learn about cooking and cleaning. I'm here to learn how to be a ninja. I refuse to learn about flowers." She scowled, bringing a smile to the man's face as he thought of a similar attitude of one of his male students.

"Are you sure you can keep up with the boys? They're often pushed harder." he explained.

"YES! I can keep up!" She screeched and then apologized upon realizing a cowering Iruka.

"Ok ok. You can attend as a boy. You wouldn't be the first." He chuckled.

"Ok.. so how much longer till class starts?" Shinobu asked, smiling now that she had won that argument. No way in hell was she playing with flowers.

"In a couple of minutes. Why don't you wait in the class room, you can sit over there." He pointed to a seat near the door. "I'll introduce you to the class once they're all here." He said before turning around to start writing about a tournament on the board.

"Oh.. um.. do you know about genjutsu? If you're attending as a boy you're going to want to look like a boy." He asked.

"Uh.. no I only know some taijutsu and one ninjutsu." She asked in confusion.

"Alright, I'll hold the jutsu for now but I'd like to keep you after class to teach it to you. It'll be easier if you can learn it." He explained, quickly performing some hand seals. She gasped as she used the reflection in the window to look at herself. She wore the black ninja shoes and gloves still but her long hair was shorter and had a bit of an emo fringe to it. She wore black baggy shorts instead of the tight pants she had earlier and when she walked she swore she felt something brush her leg. She made her way to her seat and sat down.

"A little much detail but thanks; and I can stay after school. Thanks Iruka-sensei." She smiled slightly before letting her face go emotionless. She knew there would be new people here who she may or may not trust and she didn't want to show weakness. She looked absent mindedly at her glove and played with it, not noticing the look of shock at how quickly she looked cold and heartless that her teacher wore. But he soon shook out of it at the yells and chatter of students entering the classroom. Lead by Sasuke who immdiately made his way to the back of the room and sat quietly. Now that Iruka looked at Shinobu again, she looked very similar to Sasuke, he could have thought they were siblings if he didn't know better.

"Oi, who's the new kid?" A boy with two red streaks on his cheeks yelled out, waving his face infront of Shinobu's face.

"Hn, it's polite to introduce yourself before asking about someone else." She answered monotonously.

"Inuzuka Kiba.. You?" He questioned.

"None of your business." She smirked.

"WHY I OUTTA-!" He started but was interupted.

"Kiba go sit down!" Iruka yelled at the loud boy who grumbled something about stupid stuck up boys before making his way to his seat. Once everyone was seated and quiet, well as quiet as they were going to get Iruka got their attention with a cough.

"We have a new student today. He just started at the academy and is new to all of this so don't be rude. Shinobu, could you come up here please?" Iruka asked, being careful to use the right pronouns. _It's lucky I have a boy's name _ She thought as she slowly made her way to the front of the class.

"Would you like to introduce yourself." He asked her.

"Hn.. you already did it for me." She muttered loud enough for everyone to hear, earning a few giggles and laughs.

"True enough, anyway. This is Shinobu. Be nice and welcome he-im to your class." He smiled before sending Shinobu back to her seat, an invisible sweat drop at his small slip up. When she sat down she heard several giggles and squeals. She turned around to see what it was to be shocked by the sight of several girls looking inbetween herself and Sasuke with hearts in their eyes. _Dear lord... don't they have anything better to do? _She rolled her eyes and watched Iruka.

"So today we're going to hold fighting matches in a tournament mode to see how far everyone has progressed in their taijutsu. Shinobu won't be partici-"

"I'll be participating." She interupted. She was going to prove she wasn't some useless noob out here.

"Ok.. he will participate then. Everyone will fight everyone and we'll rank it to see who's at the top and who's at the bottom. So head out back to the circles." He explained. Shinobu didn't ask, just followed everyone else, trying to ignore the stares of some of the girls.

"Are you related to Sasuke-kun?"

"You're cute will you go out with me?"

"Could you tutor me?"

Shinobu finally snapped and yelled at them.

"You don't know me, ask him and I'm new here! How the heck am I supposed to tutor you? We're here to train, not to find mates. If you want to flirt with boys, go to a civilian school!" She snapped before turning back around and walking beside Sasuke. They never seemed to approach him. She watched him out of the corner of her eye, ignoring the odd temptation to hug him. _What kind of twin never hugs her brother..? Not that he knows he's my brother.. this sucks and rocks all at the same time.._

"Hey who's the new kid? He looked like Sasuke?" A blond asked running beside Kiba behind Shinobu.

"His name is Shinobu.. and he acts like Sasuke too.. and why are you late?" Kiba asked.

"I slept in." He replied before they both entered a comfortable silence.

"Alright everyone! Get ready. Our first match is going to be Shikamaru and Naruto over in ring one. I want Shinobu and Kiba in ring two and Ino and Sakura in ring three." He called out and different people went to different rings to watch. A girl with lavender eyes went to watch naruto and some of the Boys went to see Ino and Sakura but most people want to see the skill of the new kid. So the biggest crowd was ring two.

"To start off your match I'd like you to bow to your partner and wish them luck!" He yelled out of the chatter of students.

"Alright.. good luck." Shinobu spoke in a strong voice before bowing, recieving a small mutter of good luck and a miniscule bow.

"Three.. two.. one.. begin!" Iruka shouted. Shinobu immediately slid into one of the stances she knew from Sasuke. It seemed like the better stance to wait in, it had good balance for blocking yet was easy to move from into an attack.

"I thought you said you never learned before?" Kiba shouted in confusion.

"I did.. but I've been to the library.. they have books on taijutsu you know." She replied, not entirely true but she did learn some things from books in the library. Then adjusted them to her liking. She always loved watching the dancers at festivals and for a while she attempted to teach herself. She adjusted everything so it more resembled a dance than a fight. It suited her better.

Kiba growled before running towards her and throwing a basic punch. Shinobu saw it coming and slid to the side before grabbing his arm and tripping him to the ground with her one leg sweeping at the back of his ankles. She heard a bit of laughter and some whispering and realized she had a crowd which included Iruka-sensei. _Great.. so not only am I fighting but I'm being watched? I've never practiced this stuff on anything except for air before! _So lost in thought she didn't notice Kiba stand up and swipe her feet out from under her. She landed on her rear with a thud.

"Ow.. darn it." She muttered under her breath.

"It was a one time thing then. You're not so great." Kiba scoffed and Shinobu growled in return. _I am strong.. you'll see! _She, unlike many of the students here, had learned to evade people from running from stoor merchants and brooms along with thrown items. Dodging was easy. It was attacking she needed work with. She knew how to do cart wheels, arials and flips. Even handstands through boredum when she had nothing to do in her ally. But she never had reason to attack anyone before.

"Hn.. that's what you think." She smirked before running towards him, faking a right punch befor twirling gracefully behind him to the left and elbowing him in the back of the head. "If I were you I wouldn't count your chickens before they hatched." She smirked before going through her knowledge of wrestling as he tried to shake the dizzyness out of his brain. She quickly straddled his back and held him in a half nelson.

"Does this mean I win?" She asked, looking up at Iruka.

"Yes. Ring two. Winner: Shinobu!" He called out before instructing them to link fingers as a way to put end to the fight. It was some shinobi tradition inducing peace after battle. Kiba had rolled his eyes but still did it.

"Good fight." Shinobu smiled at him. He looked slightly shocked but she walked off before he could respond. As the matches went on she faced a couple more people. She won against Naruto who, like Kiba, fought without thinking. Shikamaru had just given up and was now eating chips with Choji while watching the clouds. She had faced Shino and another boy. She had some issues against Shino but the other boy seemed pretty easy to beat to. Now it was Shinobu against Sasuke.

"Good luck." She muttered, avoiding looking him in the eye, blocking out all sound so she didn't hear his voice. She quickly bowed before assuming her, now regular, stance.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Cliffy! Please don't hate me XD it was just getting too long. Will Shinobu win? Who knows :D I'd like to point out to those who think I'm turning her into a mary sue or something (if you are) that she has nothing but free time. She can train all day every day unlike most people. It still took her several days to get that one jutsu and I assure you she won't be a mary sue. :D Hope you liked this chapter.**


	5. Run

**A/N: I believe I am officially addicted to writing this story :D Also, I suck at writing fight scenes, but I'm trying. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Run is by snow patrol<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

Shinobu felt her heart pounding in her chest. Everything was going by in slow motion. She could see her brother standing across from her as if she was looking into a mirror. His eyes held the same pain.. the same need to get stronger. Yet his face stayed emotionless. She felt like she was looking at herself. She watched as he darted from left to right before making his way to her. She ducked a punch and quickly twirled around to face him only to get punched in the chest, sending her flying to the edge of the ring.

"See? Sasuke-kun is better!" One of the girl whispered behind her.

"Ya, but Shinobu-kun has never fought before." Another girl whispered. Shinobu growled to herself before slowly standing. She walked forward and threw a punch to have him lean away from it and throw another punch which she barely dodged, causing her to fall over again. She leaned back onto her hands before springing to her feet and spinning into an arabesque, kicking him to the ring line.

Lowering her leg she swiveled to face him, sliding into a low stance. He looked at her with slight confusion before masking it with anger and blankness. He ran forward and she quickly front rolled under his punch, not wanting to get hit again. She turned to face him. He was readying to attack but was interupted.

"You have two more minutes before I'm calling a draw." Iruka shouted above the chatter of students watching.

"Hn.. fine." Sasuke grumbled. He ran forward and Shinobu soon found herself admist a parry of punches. She managed to get a hit or two in before she was back in the air. She spun so she was facing downwards trying to figure out where she was before she landed but she felt a hard kick to her stomache. She hit the ground, a circle of dirt coming up around her. A gasp leaving her lips as she felt her breath knocked out of her before a firm foot was placed on her back.

"Winner: Sasuke." Iruka muttered. A couple of girls squealed and swarmed on Sasuke while some of them ran over to Shinobu to see if she was ok.

"Shinobu-kun.. are you ok?" One girl asked, latching onto her arm.

"He's fine back off." She heard a voice from behind her. Looking up she saw Kiba standing there.

"What do you want?" Shinobu asked, shakily getting to her feet.

"I was just getting them off your back. Good fight by the way." He grinned.

"Ya.. not exactly how I hoped it would turn out." She let a small grin. Kiba seemed nice enough.

"You did really good Shinobu-kun!" Choji smiled, walking over with Shikamaru.

"Thanks.. I've never really fought before.. it was.. odd." She said with a grin. Looking over her shoulder Shinobu could see Sasuke storming off.

"Does he always act like he's got a stick shoved up his butt?" She asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked back at the group of boys who had decided to walk with her back to the academy for lunch.

"Pretty much." Kiba laughed. "Though I've never heard anyone mention it like that before."

"Well it looks like it!" She smiled.

"Sorry for being all Sasuke-ish earlier.. I just am not really good with people I don't know.. though.. you guys seem nice enough." She explained.

"Ah, it's fine. By the way.. was that an arabesque earlier?" Shikamaru asked curiously.

"Uh.. ya.. how do you know what that is?" Shinobu asked.

"Shikamaru is really smart!" Choji answered for him before taking another handful of chips.

"Ah, that explains it. But ya. I learned dance when I was younger and it's easier for me to incorporate it with fighting. It makes more sense. If you know what I mean." Shinobu explained.

"So that's why you looked so girly fighting." Kiba exclaimed.

"I'm a guy thanks, unless you want to admit getting your butt kicked by a girl." Shinobu smirked. She enjoyed talking with people her own age. It was different.. she liked having friends.

"Ok ok! You're a guy." He yelled. "I would never get beaten by a girl!" He grumbled.

"Haha, sure, but where did blondie go?" Shinobu asked.

"Who? Naruto? He's training, he never brings lunch so he's probably out by the target practice." Choji explained.

"Oh... ok." Shinobu muttered in wonder.

"So where do we eat lunch anyway?" She asked more out of curiousity than anything. She didn't actually bring a lunch.

"Just in the classroom." Shikamaru mumbled, his eyes drooping. _Sheesh he's lazy.._

"Ok. I'll meet you there ok? I just want to train a little more." She grinned slightly before runnin off leaving several confused boys.

She made her way outside to the targets. She wasn't going to practice with them, but maybe her fighting style and dance. She always did like dancing. Plus, she wanted to find out what Naruto was doing.

Once Shinobu was out there she saw Naruto sitting by one of the Targets, his head in his hands while tears dripped off his cheeks onto the dirt. She looked at him in slight shock wondering what to do. She never had to deal with someone else's tears before. _"You look sad.. I know flowers always cheer me up when I'm sad." _She looked around and saw a small daisy, it wasn't anything special, but it was a flower. She picked it and made her way over to him.

"Umm... Naruto.. hi.. um.. The one time I was sad this girl gave me a flower trying to cheer me up.. and it made me smile.. you look sad so.. here." She stammered, shoving the flower infront of his face. She felt it slowly disappear from her hands and looked down to see a smile on the boy as he wiped his tears away.

"Thanks.. But.. why'd you care?" He asked, confusion flitting across his face.

"Because.. no one deserves to be sad." Shinobu mumbled. Embarrassed.

"Thanks.. you're a little girly.. but I hope we can be friends. Dattebayo." He grinned, his blue eyes lighting up.

"That's because I'm a girl, baka." She said.

"Really?" He asked in confusion.

"Uh huh. Girls have to do flowers and stuff. I'm here to get strong not learn that type of stuff. So I enrolled as a boy." She grinned.

"I'm here to get strong too! I'm gonna be Hokage and then everyone will acknowledge me." He grinned.

"I believe it." She giggled. "Wanna train? I haven't done targets but I need to work on my taijutsu." She smiled.

"Sure but I won't go easy on you!" He grinned.

They fought for the rest of lunch hour. Shinobu spouting advice on how to tell if an enemy was going to go in a certain direction. She finally got him to think a bit before he attacked. He told her how to use her muscles and hit at the right angle to add more power to her hits.

"How'd you get so flexible?" Naruto asked in between breaths. They were taking a break.

"I have a lot of free time so I tried out different hobbies. I tried dance and acrobatics but at one point I saw contortion and tried stretching. I'm not very good so I quit but I still stretch now and then to keep some of the flexibility I gained." She explained.

"Cool! Why'd you join so late though.. of the academy I mean." He asked.

"Because I didn't know ninja's existed until recently." She smiled sheepishly before giving him a hand up.

"Not knowing ninja's exist? How could you nnot know?" He asked, dumbfounded.

"I don't know I just didn't." She said. Naruto looked like he was going to say something but they were soon greeted by the rest of the class. Apparently lunch was over and they were going to work on target practice for now.

"Where'd you go?" Kiba asked as Iruka lined them up to their own targets.

"I was training. I think I got a little side tracked. Sorry." She apologized.

"No big deal." He said, throwing a fake shuriken and hitting just outside the third ring of his target. She watched everyone. Naruto had awful aim, Kiba was so-so. Choji was busy eating chips but he did manage to get a couple on target. Shikamaru was out of Shuriken already and was laying on his back. Sasuke's were all inside the second ring. There was a girl with pink hair who managed to hit inside the first ring once or twice. Ino-chan was missing some but one hit the bulls eye.

Shinobu looked at the weapon in her hand. She had never handled anything like this before and wasn't quite sure how to throw it. Watching Sasuke again she saw him flick his wrist to throw it almost like a frisbee. _Ok.. I can do this. _She thought to herself before throwing the first shuriken and missing the target entirely.

"Haha, you're aim is awful Shinobu!" Kiba grinned.

"Oh shut up! I'm new at this. I'll get better." She shouted before throwing her second one and just hiting the third ring. "See?" She smirked.

"Ugh.. are you good at everything?" He asked, rolling his eyes.

"Nope. The first time I tried doing a jutsu it took me days to learn it. It was awful." She grinned cheekily before throwing another shurken and hitting in between the third and second rings.

"Ha, nice to know nobody's perfect." He grinned.

"OI! SASUKE IS PERFECT!" A random girl screeched.

"Oh shut up! Train or beat it!" Shinobu yelled out. These girls annoyed her to no end.

"And to know that you're not a complete Sasuke. Those girls are annoying eh?"

"YES!" She groaned. They were getting on her nerves. She finished off her shuriken, getting one inside the second ring before looking around. "Hey, where's Naruto?" She asked, but before anyone could answer they heard a booming shout from behind them.

"NARUTO!" Iruka screamed. "You're staying after class to clean all this up!" He shouted. Shinobu looked up to see the entire academy was covered in toilet paper.

"Holy fudge monkeys.." She whispered in an awed tone as she looked at the school.

"Haha! That's the best one he's done yet." Kiba grinned.

"You mean he does this a lot?" She asked, looking at him.

"All the time. Last one he did was putting glue on everyones chairs. Over half the class went home without pants. Including Sasuke which was hilarious." He laughed. Shinobu couldn't help but laugh at the idea of Sasuke, pantsless, swarmed by fangirls.

"As for the rest of you! Class is up. Have a great day." He smiled.

"See you tomorrow Shinobu!" Kiba waved before running off with a girl who looked to be his older sister. She waved back before making her way to Iruka.

"Um.. sensei." She asked.

"Oh, Shinobu, is it ok if you learn the genjutsu tomorrow?" He asked, realizing he had forgotten about her.

"Ok.. that's good but.. I helped Naruto with this prank.. I should be helping him clean." She muttered, letting her hair hide her face now that it was longer since the genjutsu dropped.

"Ok.." He smiled. She had the feeling he knew she was lying, but that didn't stop her from starting to clean the toilet paper. She used the windows from inside the school to help her get the high bits.

"Oi.. Shinobu? Why are you helping clean?" Naruto asked after spotting her from another window.

"I helped make the mess didn't I?" She grinned. It sounded more like a promise though. He smiled at her, nodding in appreciation. Shinobu finally had a new friend.

It took them a couple of hours to get all of it gone and she couldn't help but here him mumble to Iruka something about having no where better to be. Once they were all done she met him outside by the swing. It was starting to get dark.

"So this is what you look like? You still look like Sasuke." He laughed.

"Ya.. it's a bit annoying actually. I've been mistaken for him before." She grinned.

"That would be annoying, dattebayo. I'll see you tomorrow?" He asked.

"Yup! Bye!" She waved before running off to her ally. She was so tired from the day, she was ready to sleep. As she made her way into her shelter she grinned to herself. She made new friends and learned new skills. This was fun.. she would get stronger. What she didn't notice was the blond haired boy who stood wide eyed at the end of the ally, watching her enter her make-shift home.

* * *

><p><strong>Naruto POV<strong>

"So.. she's like me..?" He whispered to himself.. staring in shock.. his brain slowly making sense of everything. Her free time.. her taking longer than normal to open up. Her willingness to clean toilet paper just to spend time with other people. It all clicked in his brain, slowly.

"She can come stay with me.. live in a house. Dattebayo." He grinned to himself as the idea popped into his head. She could be like a sister. He'd have family and she'd have a home. It's perfect!

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This one strayed a little from the song but I still like the song so I'm not changing it. I hope you liked the chapter and I hope you managed to put up with my awful fight scenes XD**


	6. Fix You

**A/N: Like this story? Have an idea for Shinobu's future genin team? Vote on my profile for who you want Shinobu to replace on a team! Or vote for her own OC team! (lol commercial shpeel over) but seriously, if you want a say in what's going to happen. VOTE.**

* * *

><p><strong>I would prefer Shino for obvious reasons. It doesn't mess with the plot too much, it gives her the chance to talk to Hinata (for future reasons) she's with a friend and she'll make it to the chunin exams final matches (maybe O.o) Someone voted for Sakura and I'd like to say I need her to be strong. The option is there and I can work around it but I'd prefer them to be a four team instead of a replacement just because that would totally mess up the plot line. Then again she'd have plenty of moments with her brother and her new friend.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Anyway, the decision in the end is up to you! I may end up making a really long AN giving readers an idea of which replacement would take the story where. If you want this A/N either review and ask for it, or pm me if you'd rather it sent specifically to you instead of interupting the story. ANYWAY! ON WITH THE STORY!**

* * *

><p><strong>Naruto POV<strong>

The ramen loving, whiskered boy made his way through the streets. He had been close friends with Shinobu ever since they trained together on her first day. The same day he realized that she was more similar to him than he thought. He promise to meet Shinobu at the ramen stall at noon since it was a weekend. They had no lessons.

"Hey, Naruto!" The Sasuke replica waved from outside the stall, wearing a very un-Sasuke-like smile.

"Hey, Shinobu! Sorry I'm late, I was just doing some cleaning!" He explained, grinning to himself more than her. He had started cleaning out his spare room in the house the Hokage had given him. He didn't want her out on the streets so when he found out about her living conditions he immediately started making his house girl friendly.. or even human friendly. He hadn't exactly cleaned in a while. Naruto grinned, he was planning on giving her the spare key and inviting her to stay today.

"Uh.. Naruto..? You there?" She asked, giggling as she waved her hand infront of his face.

"Hm? Ya sorry, c'mon." He grinned, pulling her into Ichiraku's before ordering two miso ramens.

"It's nice to see my two favourite customers are friends." Tseuchi chuckled.

"Uh.. why is that nice?" Shinobu asked, taking a small bite of her ramen while Naruto shoveled it into his mouth. He needed at least one good bowl before asking her. He was kind of afraid that she'd say no and he'd have no family again.. not that she'd been over yet but he had hoped. Not that he'd tell anyone he was scared.

"Because it means I get double the business!" He grinned while Shinobu rolled her eyes.

"Ok. Well business aside I need a favor.. or a brain. Either one will do." Shinobu giggled.

"What is it?" Ayame asked, just making her way out and catching the end of the conversation.

"Well.. other than you guys no one is letting me into their shops anymore. I need another outfit for training. I burnt my last one and one of the others is covered in holes." She explained sheepishly.

"Why wouldn't they let you in the story? That's not fair!" Naruto exclaimed, finishing his second bowl.

"Something along the lines of filth and demon's shouldn't be friends. I don't care what they say but I do need new equipment." She muttered.

"Why don't you use that genjutsu that Iruka sensei taught you? The one that makes you look more like Sasuke." Naruto asked, for once offering a great idea.

"Thanks! That's genius! I can't believe I never thought of that before actually ... heh." She grinned, a little embarrassed.

"No problem." He smiled before taking a big breath. "Uh.. Shinobu.. Can I ask you something?" He asked.

"Ya, sure. What?" Shinobu looked at him, curiousity gleaming in her beautiful onyx eyes.

"Well.. uhm.. I saw your.. uhm.. house. I was wondering if you wanted to come live with me!" He stammered, saying it a mile a minute to get it out.

"Seriously..?" She asked, trying not to show excitement incase he was joking or something.

"Am I going to be the hokage?" He asked with a small grin.

"Yes..?" She answered.

"Then there you go.. So.. is that your answer?" He asked, digging his shoe into the ground. She just bounced from her stool and hugged him.

"Thank you!" She grinned. They didn't notice their small audience of two but if they did they would have felt like puppies. Ayame and Tseuchi looked like they had just seen the cutest thing in the world. But, they didn't, instead they left money on the counter and made their way towards her ally. Shinobu wanted to get her stuff and show Naruto her home. When they got there she slowed down and explained the box that was sitting just outside the front door. She told him how she lived there when she was younger.

She crawled into the house and smiled waving an arm over their surroundings once Naruto entered. _How could anyone live like this.. all along in the middle of a dark ally with a couple of boards as a roof? _He looked around with a sad smile, seeing her few belongings and her make shift bed. He was glad he made the decision to let her stay. She was gonna be his family now.. right?

Shinobu was walking around, picking up her clothes, her training weapons and her running shoes before looking at her old bed sheets that were too small for her now.

"Am I going to need these still..?" She whispered. He didn't know why but tears were forming in her eyes.. as if she was sad to leave.

"I have spare blankets.. but.. are you ok?" He asked, concerned.

"Ya.. just happy.. it's bittersweet.. I feel like this is my home.. I've been here for such a long time.. It's strange to leave and know I won't be coming back." She smiled.

"Well put it this way! It'll make one awesome hiding spot if we ever play the ninja hide and go seek in class!" He grinned.

"Ya.." She smiled, looking around for a minute before looking at him. "Come on.. let's go home."

* * *

><p><em><span>Shinobu POV: About a week later<span>_

Shinobu had been staying for about a week now, her room had posters of taijutsu stances and she had random training materials and library books scattering her floor. She had originally kept it quite clean until she woke up Naruto for school the one day and saw how filthy his room was. Since then she just worried about the rest of the house. She wanted to earn her stay so she cleaned dishes and mopped floors and went grocery shopping. Shinobu still worked at the ramen shop so she still earned enough money to buy bulk cupped ramen, a food they quickly learned was a favourite for both of them.

At first when she entered the house she refused to eat unless she was buying it for herself because she felt intrusive enough. She was very happy to have a normal roof and refused to ask for any more. But Naruto soon convinced her it was her home too. That they were friends, a chosen family and that anything they got they could easily share. She had broken down crying at the time, but was very grateful to have someone she could call family who was considered family on both ends. Unlike Sasuke who was still clueless to his twin.

Shinobu was currently staring at her cieling, Naruto had offered to let her paint but she asked if she could just draw instead. She used to draw in the dirt to pass her time before, so now she drew on her walls and cieling. There were currently lists of hand seals on her cieling. She wasn't particularily good but you got the idea easy enough.

She sighed before getting up, Shinobu never wanted to get out of bed anymore, unlike her old bed, this one had a matress and was quite comfortable if you ignored the belts tied to the end of it. She had them there to keep her feet down when she did sit ups. Naruto had the same on his bed and she liked the idea.

She slowly made her way to the kitchen, wiping sleep out of her eyes. She wanted a shower before class but she knew the smell of ramen would wake Naruto up and she was hungry. She pulled out two cups and prepared them before sticking the first in the microwave. They had this little routine where she would put his to cook and then when he was done eating he would put hers in the microwave while she showered. Then she'd eat and wash the dishes while Naruto made sure they had everything for school. Sure the routine had flaws, like Naruto forgetting a lot of school related stuff, but it worked for the most part.

Once it was in cooking she made her way to the bathroom, smiling at her dark blue fluffy towel which Naruto gave her. He seemed to notice that she liked the colour blue. Her pillow, blankets, backpack, towel and floor rug were all dark shades of blue. His on the other hand consisted of bright orange, excluding his backpack which was standard green.

She enjoyed the feel of the warm water washing over her skin. It was refeshing and it woke her up. The first time she took a warm bath she squeaked and ran away to tell Naruto there was something wrong with it. She was so used to bathing in the lake she wasn't quite sure that warm water existed, but now that she was used to it, she loved it. It was also alot easier to bath with soap, the dirt came off easier and her skin quickly began taking it's natural pale tone instead of the light brown it had from dirt stains. She wasn't dirty, she just couldn't get the colour to go away; that and her hair was so much softer now. It shocked her. Who knew hair was supposed to be soft? She could barely stop playing with it now which looked odd in class because she was supposedly a boy.

So much had changed since she joined the academy that it floored her. She was now friends with Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba. They all hung out with her and Naruto. It was a little disfunctional considering Shika always slept, Choji was always eating and Kiba and Naruto were always fighting and argueing. She switched back and forth, she'd sleep and cloud gaze. She'd buy chips and share with Choji. She'd train with Naruto and Kiba and referee their battles so that it was fair. She loved it.

Since she joined the academy, she was happy. She had friends, she had family, she had a home, she had a teacher, she had warm food, she had soap, she had love, she felt safe. She would do anything to protect this.

Shinobu quickly shook out her hair as she turned the tap off and towel dried before getting into her standard blue tank top and black capris. She almost wondered why she wore them since it looked like shorts and a t-shirt to everyone else at school anyway; but when she thought about it they were comfortable, especially when she was training with the genjutsu off.

Quickly hanging her towel she made her way out to the living room to eat and do the dishes. She saw Naruto waiting by the door, half asleep on the couch. She made her way over to him before flicking his nose and giggling at his shocked reaction.

"C'mon. I don't want to be late." She grinned. He scowled for a brief second before grinning and uttering a challenge and racing out the door.

"Hey! No fair! You had a head start!" She yelled after him, picking up her bag and chasing after the blond boy. They both ignored the rude looks they got from everyone around them and just grinned, enjoying the happiness of the moment. They'd never be alone again. They had family.

* * *

><p><strong>Naruto POV<strong>

Naruto couldn't help the grin, this wasn't one of those stupid grins he had when he was acknowledged and chased down for a prank. This was a grin of pure happiness. The joy of running along side your family. The wind rushing through his hair, the stares he didn't care about for once, the girl now looking like a boy running beside him. He wasn't alone.

When they finally got there Naruto burst through the classroom door while Shinobu quickly composed herself and walked in completely emotionless, they were the last ones there.

"Why are you guys late?" Iruka asked, his eyebrow twitching in annoyance.

"I slept in!" Naruto exclaimed. "Not my fault!"

"We're not late.. the bell is going to ring in one s-" She was interupted by the bell, as if it were there to prove her point. Naruto looked up at her. _Damn lucky timing. _He mentally rolled his eyes before making his way to his seat.

"Alright! Now as I was saying before. The girls will be going with Kimiko-sensei to learn flower arrangements. The boys will remain here to learn about different fighting styles. We'll be covering the styles for a couple days so the girls won't miss much." Iruka explained while the girls giggled in excitement. Shinobu rolled her eyes. _Haha, she's probably thanking the heavens she's not going to that. _Naruto thought, grinning as he caught her eye roll.

"Alright, if you're female, come with me!" A woman with long purple hair done up in a bun smiled before disappearing through the door followed by all the girls except for Shinobu.

"And that's why I'm happy I'm a guy." Kiba snorted as the last girl left.

"Don't be rude! Girls are very helpful on missions as well as normal civilian jobs." Iruka protested only to get laughs and scoffs in return. Shinobu had turned deadly quiet in the corner and Naruto was almost tempted to tell everyone to shut up if it weren't for the fact that they'd start calling him a girl.

"Girls can be strong too.." Shinobu muttered loud enough for everyone to hear and Naruto shot around to look at her. She's always quiet in class.

"Ya right! Like who?" One boy asked.

"Tsunade! One of the legendary sanin and the student of the hokage. She's a famous healer and she has enough strength to punch a building down." Shinobu recited from one of the books she read.

"Ya right! Like someone like that exists!" The boy retorted.

"Actually she does, and she's a famous shinobi known in all five hidden villages." Iruka grinned. He had expected something out of his only female student but not quite that.

"Oh.." He mumbled before keeping quiet.

"Anyway, I want everyone to go outside! We're going to learn some of the basics and then each person will either make up their own set of basic taijutsu stances and do a battle with them or use their clan's fighting style." Iruka shouted earning grumbling from most of the class as they got out of their seats and made their way downstairs.

"Not fair! Most people here have their own clan style or one they've already made up. Like the hyuuga style or how Shinobu dances as he fights. Ugh." Kiba grumbled to himself. _Why can't we just fight normal? Our own style? I don't get it... _

"It's so we can know more than one style of fighting incase a certain style doesn't work against a certain enemy." Shikamaru explained before yawning, noticing Naruto's look of confusion.

"Besides, just fight like the nin dogs do in your clan. They have their own stances in a way too don't they?" Shinobu asked grinning to herself when she saw the wheels in Kiba's head start to turn.

Naruto watched everyone and saw, much to his dismay, that almost everyone had their own style. They had already gone through an hour lecture and everyone was working on their fighting styles now. Shinobu was stretching in the corner, earning a couple of odd looks and groin grabs as she went into the splits. As if grabbing their groins were going to protect them. Kiba was on all fours practicing different spins and maneuvers. Shikamaru was trying to switch from defense to offense with as little movement as possible while Choji was trying to utilize his strength, thanks to Shikamaru's suggestions. Shino was attempting to use the bugs in his body to make him more light footed as he used normal style. The only ones not working on something were Sasuke and Naruto, and Naruto couldn't help but grin at this.

Unfortunately, this didn't help him at all when it came to his own style. They only had twenty minutes left and he had nothing. Finally pushing his pride aside he went over to Shinobu for help, who was one of the few not practicing anymore. Instead, she lay on her back, watching the clouds. A hobby she found she liked thanks to Shikamaru.

"Uhm.. Shinobu... could you help me out? I can't think of anything." He asked, looking a little embarrassed.

"Ya, sure! Hm.. let me see." She looked him over. Shinobu was known for being smart. A little book smart like Sakura and a little brain smart like Shika but she put the two together with experience to help her out.

"Well when we were fighting you had issues moving from attacking to defence. In fact, you ignored defence all together. You also had issues switching from movement to attacking. Try switching the normal stances so your legs are farther apart, this will help you switch stances easier. Then focus on power. Speed isn't really your thing, your body seems built for strength. Take the defence stances and combine them with offense stances. That way you'll still be attacking and you won't have to think about defending. After all, the best defence is a good offence." She grinned. "Or was it the best offense is a good defence.." She sighed.

"Thanks!" He grinned, it was definitely the right Idea to ask her. He made his way back to his area and went through all the stances he knew, adjusting them and soon finding that he was more balanced. _She was right, it is easier to switch like this. _He grinned. He had adjusted everything so that he could attack whenever he was attacked to avoid being hit. It wasn't the best, but it would work for now.

The matches flew by as if life had been set on fast forward and before he knew it he was fighting Shinobu, which was great and bad all at the same time. It was great because he knew he had a chance from all the practice with her. It was bad because they fought so often that they knew each others every movement.

"Let's see if your new stances give you the upper hand." She grinned, earning a matching grin. She may have been Sasuke's twin but her smile and the light in her eyes was identical to Naruto's. They really did seem like family if you looked close enough.

The two fought and Shinobu looked honestly surprised at his improvement. Every time she aimed to hit him he'd hit to block. Harming her more than she was getting to him. She started increasing her speed and managed to get a punch or two in here or there but it wasn't much. They were pretty even now. The only time she could say she was proud of herself during that fight was when she fell into a back bridge avoiding a punch and manage to kick him in the face as she did a simple walk over.

In the end Iruka had to stop the fight since it was taking too long and the girls were getting back. For the rest of lunch Naruto and Shinobu trained, honing their new styles. Or improving her style in Shinobu's case. Kiba came out and joined them and they trained with the three of them. Iruka gave them free time for the rest of the afternoon so they continued practicing everything from their styles to target training to see who could get who to laugh first. It was fun yet tiring.

Kiba had to leave when his mom came to get him but Naruto and Shinobu continued for hours, not worried about getting home since the only people who would worry were with them. By the time it was dark their muscles ached and they both were covered in grass stains and dirt marks. There were rips in their clothes and Shinobu's genjutsu dropped from pure exhaustion.

"Ready to go home?" Naruto asked with a small grin.

"Mhmm." A drowsy Shinobu agreed. You could tell that she was fighting to keep her eyes open and she barely had the strength to walk home. She ended up leaning on Naruto for most of it until he picked her up into a piggy back ride and she fell asleep. He walked her all the way home and tucked her into bed, smiling to himself before making his way to his bed, collapsing on it the moment he was close enough.

In a way, he felt horrible that she ever had to lose her family and live like that for so long. She was amazing.. she didn't deserve it. But another part of him was glad she did.. glad she endured it, because he had never been so happy as he was when she was here. She was his family and if she didn't stay strong then.. he would be alone. He couldn't even imagine being alone again now. He would do anything to protect her. She was, in every sense of the word, his family.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Song is fix you by coldplay. Awesome song, lots of emotion. I know the chapter isn't complete emotion but there is definitely snip its. I hope you guys are happy. When I noticed the there were 60 viewers for today alone I felt the need to update. So it's now THREE O'clock in the morning and I'm drooling on my keyboard. :P**


	7. Advice

**A/N: OK! So this is a giant author note and as annoying as it is I hope you'll read it. After a little review acknowledgment it's explaining where each poll choice will take the story and why I do or don't prefer that option. That way you'll fully understand what you're voting for. Edit: I removed it after the decision was made.**

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks to Linda Ku, KiyUzumaki and AKATSUKICHIBIS789<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

_No... don't give up yet.. _She looked up and straight into his eyes as she flew across the yard. Today they were holding matches that weren't limited by rings and she was once again with her brother. She twisted her body mid hair so she landed on her hands, quickly pushing off them to get back into her regular stance. People had been making fun of her style but it worked best for her so she ignored them. She knew it looked girly but it was graceful and best suited for her body type.

She looked up and saw him looking at her, as if waiting for her to attack. She had been defending mostly so far to try and come up with a way to get past his defence. Shinobu had already realized that running straight to him or darting wasn't going to work since he was too good at following movements with her eyes. She needed a way of moving forward that would confuse him.

"Shinobu! 33!" She heard Shikamaru yell from the sidelines and immediately realized that he had been talking to Naruto about her style. Stance thirty three wasn't a stance at all, but a series of flips and as she thought it over, it would confuse him. Nobody other Naruto had seen her use her acrobatic side of her style. Sure everyone in the academy knew basic flips but she built on them. They were fun and easy for her.

She started running towards him and before anyone knew it she was on her hands flipping and cartwheeling at top speed across the yard, making a dizzy blur. She was calculating as she went making sure she made every movement at the right spot and distance getting ready to attack. The first time she had tried this against Naruto she had fallen and sprained her wrist. She wasn't able to train for over a week and it sucked. Once she was within a couple of feet of him she sprung into the air and landed on his shoulders sending him crashing onto the ground with her pinning his torso down.

Out of all of the times she fought him she never won, she improved, but she never won. Unfortunately, this was no exception, she looked up at Iruka for a brief second before she found herself flat on her back with a practice kunai drawn to her neck. _And... I lost.. again.. _She sighed as Iruka called the winner.

"That was so close, you almost had him!" Kiba yelled out scowling at the boy, but Shinobu wasn't really listening, instead she was staring after her brother who was walking away, attempting to brush off the fan girls who were flagging him. It was always like this, he never talked to her. Just beat her then left. It annoyed her to no end.

"Uh.. Shinobu? You ok dude?" He asked, waving his hand infront of her face.

"Huh? Uh.. oh ya! Uhm.. fine." Shinobu stammered, still not really paying attention.

"You might wanna stop staring, people are gonna start thinking you're a Sasuke fan boy." He laughed. She just nodded before muttering something about needing to leave and walking after Sasuke, leaving them behind looking shocked and confused.

"So.. does that mean he is a fanboy?" Kiba asked uncertainly, eying the dazed girl's retreating figure.

"Oh shut up. Baka." Naruto muttered before running after her. "Hey! Shinobu.. you alright?" He asked, finally catching up.

"Hm? Ya.. just.. I dunno.." She muttered, still following Sasuke.

"Why are you stalking the Teme then?" He asked, eye brows knitted. He wasn't very good at reading between lines but he was certainly trying.

"Not stalking just.. debating talking.." She mumbled.

"Uh.. why?" He asked, now completely confused.

"Well.. I just think he should know how I feel. I mean.. after all this time he hasn't even talked to me. He should know.. shouldn't he? Well it's not like it's his fault.. I haven't been talking to him much either." She argued to herself, not really realizing that Naruto was there.

"What are you talking about? You're a Sasuke fangirl.. no.. you've turned over to the dark side! SNAP OUT OF IT!" He cried, shaking her. She, finally realizing he was there and being more alert, rolled her eyes.

"Dear kami no. I will never be a fan girl." She assured him.

"But.. then what? How do you feel? Why do you need to tell him something?" He asked, confusion never once leaving his tanned features. She looked at him for a second before looking at her hands and twiddling her thumbs in a Hinata-like fashion. She didn't want to answer, but Naruto was her family now.. he deserved to know.. right?

"Shinobu.. you ok? What is it?" He asked, concern dripping from his soft voice.

"Mhmm.. it's just.." She sighed, looking up at him. He really should know.. but.. should she tell him? Yes.. yes she should.

"Shinobu?" He asked, laying a hand on her shoulder.

"Ya.. it's just.." She looked him straight in the eyes and took a deep breath. "Sasuke is my brother." She paused evaluating his expression which immediately turned dumbfounded and shocked but she continued. "My twin to be exact.. except he doesn't know that because my dad didn't like girls because we're weak so he told everyone including the Hokage that I died at birth. My mom took care of me for a while but stopped showing up and then they died." She sighed, looked at his facial expressions. His eyes ranged from confusion, to pure anger to grim realization to sadness and concern. It was like seeing a video of all the facial expressions that were possible for people who weren't good at reading others to study.

"Then why don't you tell him!" He whispered harshly.

"Because... He won't believe me. They're all dead.. I'm dead. He got told I died. I don't exist to him.. There's no way he'd believe me." She muttered, almost trying to convince herself more than him. Truth was, she was afraid that's how he would react. She didn't want to lose more family that she didn't even have.

"Well, then, that's his loss! I can be your family instead, I AM your family." He corrected himself. "And if he doesn't want to believe you then you shouldn't waste your time on him. We should have fun you and me. Because I'll always be here for you. Promise."

"Honest to Kami promise..? Needles in eyes if you break it?" She asked, looking at him with unconvinced eyes.

"Honest to Kami I promise. If I break it, it'll feel closer to sticking needles in my heart but i'll stick 'em in my eyes if you want." He grinned earning a small smile from Shinobu before she hugged him.

"Thanks Naru.." She grinned.

"So.. does this mean you're up for pranks? It's lunch now and I have a great idea." He winked mischievously. She thoughts about it for a minute, but really, he was right. She shouldn't be sad over someone who didn't even care. She should just have fun and enjoy her own life.

"Are Iruka's detentions similar to the word I'm avoiding using in front of my awesome answer?" She grinned. Shinobu had learned a thing or two from Naruto in the time they stayed together and he was definitely teaching her how to misbehave. Some may have thought it was wrong but she was simply doing what she had to, to have fun with her family.

"Haha, yes!" He laughed before pulling out a paper from his pocket and started showing her his "brilliant idea". It consisted of a series of simple traps they had learned in the academy already, some bird seed and pudding. Naruto had, believe it or not, been paying attention the time of day when birds were most likely to be outside when the trained. Apparently they had been bugging him during target practice because he didn't want to accidently hit one. It gave him an idea.

Shinobu soon found herself setting up trip wires and pudding outside. Naruto was setting up the bird seed from the tree where Iruka always sat under. Once they were all set up they rushed back inside to look as normal as possible until training. They had already been told they all needed work on their aim. Except for Sasuke and Shikamaru.

"Alright everyone! Get ready to go outside. I'll meet you all out there, make sure you have all of your shuriken." He shouted before making his way out. Shinobu and Naruto were already ready so they followed him. Naruto was known for pulling pranks already so Shinobu made sure to do the next step so he wouldn't get suspicious. If Naruto had gone to talk to Iruka there would be no way the prank would work since Iruka would avoid the trap. So instead, she made her way over to her tired sensei.

"Hey.. Iruka-sensei! I've just wanted to say thanks for working so hard to train us. I thought maybe you could use some relaxation time! So I brought cushions so you could sit out here and watch us in comfort since the bark always digs into your back, right?" She asked earning a grateful smile from Iruka as she set them up under the tree against the trunk, being careful not to set it off.

Once she was in the clear she waved for Iruka to sit down. Most of the students were outside now and were already training. Kiba, Choji and Shikamaru had caught onto what was happening when they saw the devious duo paying more attention to Iruka than their usual training. The three boys now where watching out of the corner of their eyes as they pretended to train.

Shinobu watched anxiously with a smile as Iruka sat down tripping the contraption that they had set up. Within a matter of seconds you could hear the sounds of wires cutting against bark and Iruka screaming as he was dowsed in butterscotch pudding. The entire class burst into laughter and Naruto was now rolling the ground clutching his stomach.

"Shinobu...NARUTO!" He screeched, his face contorting in anger. As he stood up and made his way to where Naruto was standing he set off the second trip wire which was signaled by a loud creaking noise. He looked up in shock before looking at Naruto, his facial expression looking like one of a lost puppy. Shinobu almost felt bad for him.

He took one more step towards Naruto when nothing was happening and set off the third wire letting the bag of bird seed fall over the now sticky Iruka. If this wasn't bad enough, before he could go yell at either one of them he was surrounded by birds who were eating the seeds from his hair, skin and clothing.

"Na..ru..TO!" He yelled, scaring off the birds for a moment before they came swarming back.

"S-sorry sensei!" He wheezed between fits of laughter.

"Oh my god.. that was epic!" Kiba grinned, having finally been able to stop laughing after several minutes. Iruka was almost completely free of the bird seed but he was still covered in pudding which now had random feathers stuck in it. Naruto sighed before grinning up at his disheveled teacher.

"Don't worry, that was everything." He smiled apologetically before hiding more snickers. But unknown to Naruto, Shinobu had set up a little more out of the ... kindness of her heart. Iruka sighed and when everyone else started training, Shinobu kept her eyes glued to her teacher who was going to clean up.

As soon as he grabbed the door handle to the school he set off another wire and many heads whipped around after hearing another high pitched scream. Iruka was drenched in what looked like water, cleaning the majority of the pudding off.

"There.. I set that part up. You're clean..er.. now." Shinobu said, trying ridiculously hard not to laugh. Iruka looked like a drowned rat.. but that wasn't why she was trying not to laugh. It wasn't water she had poured into the bucket, it was a special hair dye. While it cleaned off the pudding it left Iruka with bright orange hair. It didn't take long before the rest of the class realized and were all laughing again.

"What...? What's so funny?" He asked, obviously confused.

"Y-y-your h-hair! Oh m-my god!" Kiba was laughing hysterically on the ground, rolling around while clutching his stomach.

"My hair..?" Iruka asked, moving towards a window to see his reflection. He was greeted by the sight of a drenched man with messy, neon orange hair and bird feathers attached to the left over pudding on his rear.

"SHINOBU!" Was the last thing she heard before she and Naruto were running for their lives all over the school, interupting a couple of classes and scaring many teachers.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This song is Advice by Christina Grimmie and it's probably my happiest chapter yet :D I hope you like Shinobu under the influence of Naruto. I don't know if you've realized but they really are complimentary (blue and orange! :D)**


	8. Wind

**A/N: Thanks to "Alli ate Sora-Sorry Roxas" for the review and Linda Ku. I'm proud to say that I've almost got the same amount of hits on this story as Mirror which is over twice as long. I also have a lot of reviews (for me anyway) so thanks everyone! Also, I've switched the poll to a blind poll because I don't want to ruin the surprise :P ;) Enjoy le chappy.**

* * *

><p><strong>P.S Sorry it's short, they'll get longer and I know there was a long wait but hey, next chapter is important and awesome and funny!<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

Kiba quickly signaled for them to go. Iruka-sensei was holding a boring history lesson and the group of them, now named dead-lasts much thanks to Sasuke and his nickname for Naruto. Kiba didn't appreciate it very much, as in he'd fight anyone who called them that, but they all knew that they'd surpass most of the people in this class anyway.

Kiba quickly got up and darted towards the window, flinging it open and jumping out, soon followed by Shikamaru, then Choji, then Naruto and Shinobu. They ran, laughing at each other as Iruka screamed out the window. They knew he'd catch them but the moments of bliss were worth it. When they were finally out of breath they stopped under a large cherry blossom tree near the end of the park, farthest from the academy.

"Did you see Iruka-sensei's face? It was priceless!" Naruto laughed, clutching his sides. Shinobu couldn't help but laugh with him. It felt like it had been so long since she met him. Living in the ally, being quiet and sad, it felt like a distant dream. She loved her friends, even if only one of them knew her gender; but it's personality that counts the most, right?

She sighed before flopping down onto the grass beside Shikamaru. Her eyes drifting as she watched the clouds moved, they put her to sleep whenever she watched them. They were so beautiful, graceful, floating and free. Being a cloud would be fun, then again so would being a flying squirrel. It wasn't long before they were all there laying in silence, other than the odd crunch of a chip or the breeze through the trees. As they were laying a shadow started to loom over them before they were all ten feet in the air, jumping in fright.

"GUUUUUUUYS!" Iruka screamed over them. "You all have detention!" He shrieked, talk about banshee.

"Aw.. c'mon sensei! You know it was just for fun!" Kiba whined.

"What a drag.." Shikamaru sighed, propping his head up on his hands.

"Fudge monkeys.." Shinobu sighed before standing, they all followed Iruka back to the classroom, class was dismissed so they were the only ones there. Once the door was shut Iruka turned to face them, a scowl on his face and a tick mark on his forehead.

"What's the point of this sensei? I wanna go home." Naruto pouted.

"You guys don't have the patience, you'll never improve or become great ninja's if you don't focus on your studies and train!" He shouted.

"But we train all the time!" Choji complained.

"But you don't focus, there's a difference." He sighed before placing a leaf on all of their foreheads. "This is an old traditional training method to help with focus. I want you to remove the leaf without touching it." He explained while Kiba went cross-eyed trying to look at the leaf. Shikamaru just groaned. Naruto on the other hand smirked and blew upwards making it fly off.

"There! Did it, that was easy! See ya sensei!" He grinned before running out the door, soon followed by the other boys and girl. It wasn't until Iruka picked up the leaves later that he noticed there were only four. He chuckled to himself. They would be great ninja if they put their minds to it, maybe Shinobu could influence them if they didn't influence her first.

"Hey guys, wanna go swimming?" Shinobu finally asked after a while of running.

"Sure!" Kiba grinned. "But we don't have bathing suits." He questioned.

"We can just wear boxers or our clothes can't we?" Shinobu suggested, ignoring the spluttering of Naruto beside her.

"N-no! Why don't we go to the park instead?" Naruto suggested, staring at Shinobu wide eyed. He obviously under-estimated her genjutsu.

"Why? Afraid to show us your lack of muscles?" Kiba smirked.

"NO!" He shouted, immediately forgetting Shinobu and storming towards the nearby lake. "I have more muscle than you!" He bragged before stripping down and diving into the water. Shinobu, out of respect for her friends, didn't watch. She stripped down, keeping her eyes on the ground. The genjutsu Iruka had taught her was very useful, all of the details were spot on, her muscle mass was the same as she was as a girl but it showed better because she was male. She could see her abs instead of just tone lines she normally saw. It made her grin. The only thing that was awkward was that _thing _hanging between her legs. No matter how many times she used the genjutsu, it was odd and she couldn't get used to it.

She quickly jumped into the water trying to get the thought from her mind. Naruto looked at her in confusion for a minute before just going with it. The only thing they had to worry about was if she got too exhausted and the genjutsu dropped. She couldn't help but mentally giggle as she saw the toned bodies her her friends. They were young but she was smart and knew all too well that they'd be great catches one day. Choji, the bigger of them all, still had a lot of muscle and he was literally a gentle giant.

"Oi, I bet I could hold my breath longer than you!" Kiba shouted out, his ego bruised when he noticed that Naruto did indeed have just as much muscle as he did.

"Ya right! Your on!" Naruto grinned before diving under water with Kiba. Shikamaru just floated on his back spouting water from his back. Choji watching in fascination as his friends' faces turned red in an attempt to win before they bother broke the water at the same time. They immediately got into a fight about who won before Shinobu hit them both over the head.

"Shut up!" She yelled. Earning equally confused looks from both of them.

"But I won!" The replied in synch again.

"No, you tied, and I could beat you both anyway." She smirked, challenge glinting in her eyes. After another arguement they were all underwater again. Shinobu could hear the gurgled sound of Choji and Shikamaru talking above the water and the see the odd shimmering of the setting sun in the water's reflection. She had grabbed onto the dock to force her body to stay under. She remind calm to help keep her breath while Kiba and Naruto were convulsing as they tried to remain under. She felt her breath leaving her but refused to win just so they would shut up. It was only when she saw them both float to the surface that she allowed herself up for air.

"S-see?" She said shakily gulping much needed air. Kiba scowled while Naruto gave her a high five. They continued to swim for several hours before Mrs. Akamichi and Ms. Inuzuka came to get Choji and Kiba. Choji's mom got Shikamaru as well so it was soon just Naruto and Shinobu again. Ever since they moved in together they never left each others' sides. Most people thought it was weird. But if you spent your entire life alone, you'd spend every waking moment with company you could too.

"Thanks Naruto.." Shinobu mumbled as she got dressed.

"For what?" He asked, shaking the water out of his hair.

"For showing me what happyness is." She smiled as she hugged him.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This is the first Naruto ending "wind" by Akeboshi. Great song, makes me cry and brings back awesome and terrible memories all at the same time for me. Naruto is my life. So everything Naruto brings memories back. Unfortunately not all of them are good :/ Still love the song though, I hope you enjoyed the chappy.**

* * *

><p><strong>Random note: the graduation exam is next chapter.<strong> **After a close tie I took the poll down and I know the winner, you'll find out in the story next week XD O.o lot's of people voted for Sakura I was like "NYU!" lol**


	9. Failure by Design

**A/N: So thanks To ThePheonixOfTears I really want to update this tons because of future chapters I now have planned XD Also thanks because of the awesome reviews :D Hope you enjoy this.**

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

"Look at what they're doing..!"

"You'll pay for this!"

"Shut up you morons! None of you would be able to do something like this! But we can! We're incredible!" Naruto grinned before he and Shinobu promptly had talked her into painting on the Hokage monument. He had just done random doodles while she had taken the time to dress their leaders in drag. The third had eyelashes, eyeliner, blush and lipstick and it now looked like he was winking at the entire village. Kind of creepy but great for laughs.

"Haha! Suckers! You'll never catch us!" Naruto shouted as he ran beside Shinobu away from some of the Konoha anbu.

"NARUTO! SHINOBU! GET BACK HERE!" The anbu yelled and they quickly blended in with the fence using a special material.

"Haha! That was awesome! They'll never catch us." Naruto grinned, revealing himself too soon as he stuck his tongue out at the retreating figures.

"Na...Ru..TO!" Iruka screeched from behind them causing Naruto to jump several feet in the air before landing on his rear and pouting.

"Bus-ted..." Shinobu whispered, at least having the brain to look ashamed.

"Why aren't you two in class! You've been failing every exam Naruto. Do you want to fail again?" Iruka asked, he had shushined the pair into the classroom where they were tied back to back. Kiba snickered at them from his desk. "This is no time for being an idiot Naruto! You too Shinobu!" Iruka growled.

"Whatever." Naruto hmphed, looking away. Shinobu watched as a tic mark quickly made it's way upon Iruka's forehead. _Uh oh.. _She thought to herself, wincing in advanced.

"Time for Henge no Jutsu! Everyone line up! Even those who've passed!" Iruka screamed in annoyance. Complaining and groans echoed off of the classroom walls and people glared at Naruto and Shinobu.

"This is all your fault." Kiba growled at Naruto.

"What about Shinobu!" Naruto asked flabbergasted.

"Meh, you're the one influencing him." Kiba grinned at Shinobu who just rolled her eyes. She watched as the line moved along. She saw Sakura do it then jump for joy before looking at Sasuke expectantly. _Does she expect him to notice her? Sheesh.. _It wasn't until Naruto went up that she noticed Hinatta. She never took much notice to the girl before but now that she was blushing while watching Naruto it was obvious that she liked her. Shinobu giggled silently to herself before watching Naruto expectantly. This wasn't going to be normal. Knowing Naruto anyway. With in a few seconds she was rubbing smoke out of her eyes as she saw a busty naked blond infront of her. Iruka sensei flying backwards from a spurt of blood behind him/her. _Of course.. Naruto.. should've known. _She grinned at Naruto who was now a boy and cackling.

"DON'T INVENT STUPID SKILLS! YOU MORON!" Iruka yelled as he recovered, tissues in his nose. He looked ridiculous.

After class was over Iruka dragged them over to the Hokage monument to clean it. She didn't mind, after all, they've always had to clean up their pranks. It was always worth it. To see Naruto smile. Shinobu didn't like doing the pranks as much as making him smile

"I'm not letting you go home until every inch of the monument is as it was before." Iruka stated, watching the two work.

"Like we care! It's not like we have anyone to go home to!" He growled, catching the young teacher off guard. He looked between the two. Had Naruto said 'we'? Did Shinobu not have a family either..? How did Naruto know? Shinobu just looked sadly at him. _You have me.. I'm here. _She thought to herself. She would say it but she was a little afraid of being split up if someone found out they lived together. She wouldn't risk that for the world.

"Well.. um.." Iruka started earning their attention again. "If you clean all this up. I'll treat you two to ramen tonight!" He said, appearing nonchalant as he poked his cheek. Shinobu grinned as Naruto's face immediately resembled a light bulb. Just one switch and he was the brightest one around.

"OK! I'll work as hard as I can!" He grinned and the two immediately picked up pace. Ramen was their favourite food after all. It only took about an hour longer but their arms hurt horribly after they finished. _Note to self: If pranking, make the paint easily removable. _Shinobu inwardly groaned.

Once they were in the ramen stand and eating Iruka lectured Naruto. More Naruto than Shinobu because he was more the leader in the pranking. Shinobu watched in silence as Naruto shouted out his dreams for the world to hear. He knew his and was doing his best to achieve them.. what were her dreams? _What are my dreams.. I want to be stronger.. and I want to prove myself.. but where do I want to end up in life? _Shinobu thought to herself as Naruto babbled on. She watched in awe as his smile lit up the room. _I want to protect that.. _She nodded to herself. _That smile.. his happiness. I want to protect him and the people most precious to me. Hokage-sama.. Iruka-sensei. Naruto-kun. Shika. Kiba.. Choji.. Akamaru.. _She thought smiling at the two shop owners as they refilled her bowl. _And Tseuchi and Ayame. _She grinned. She would protect everyone.

She was shaken from her thoughts when she heard Naruto pleading about something. She tried to catch what they were talking about. All she heard was Naruto yell something alone the lines of "STINGY!" after Iruka shook his head then demand seconds. She grinned to herself. She had to make sure that she thanked Iruka later.

"Hey.. Naru.. what do you think the exam is going to be tomorrow?" Shinobu asked as they walked home. Iruka had told everyone to practice the basics but that didn't help if they missed something they needed. Shinobu and Naruto had taken to practicing their worst skills in hope that their better ones would be good enough. Shinobu was confident in her own ability to pass, but Naruto had a lot of trouble with some of the basics. She didn't want to be seperated from him.

"Don't worry about it! We'll pass with flying colours and then we'll be ninja!" He proclaimed confidently, Shinobu couldn't help but grin. His personality rubbed off on you if you were around him for any period of time. She was playing with her fingers as they walked and realized her nails were still short. She forgot to drop the genjutsu by accident. Guys with long nails seemed odd to her so she kept them short in the genjutsu but as a girl she kept them longer. Some may have thought it was stupid to focus on things like hair and nails had they noticed but she thought about it in a different light. If she ever ran out of kunai she'd just claw someone to death. Shinobu started giggling as she dropped the genjutsu.

"Uh.. Shinobu? What'cha laughin' about?" He asked, an adorable look of confusion gleaming in his eyes.

"Clawing people to death." She laughed, then proceeded to laugh harder when she realized she sounded like a maniac.

"Uhhm..." Naruto looked at her with worried eyes, slowly inching away. "A-are you ok?" He asked.

"Yes. I didn't mean it like that, baka." She smiled softly. She always felt more open with her friends, with Naruto, it was weird. To be less shy.. to be less introverted. "I keep my nails short as a guy. I just realized I forgot to drop the jutsu. As a girl they're longer and people think that ninja should be all about training, but if you think about it, nails make a great weapon if you run out of other weapons." She explained.

"Oooh! I get it!" He grinned sheepishly. _What? Did he think I was going to claw him or something. _Shinobu smiled.

That night she tried to sleep but failed horribly at it. She was too worried about the exam. She knew full well about teams. What team was she going to be put on? Would she be with Naruto? Who else would be with her? What if he failed? What if she failed? _Darn mind... go to be already.. _She sighed before burrying her face into her pillow until she fell asleep.

* * *

><p>"HEEEEEEEEEEEYY! SHINOBU!" Naruto's shouts echoed through the flat. Shinobu groaned before sticking her head under her pillow in an attempt to get more sleep.<p>

"SHINOBU WAKE UP! WE HAVE AN EXAM!" Naruto yelled right beside her ear causing her to jump.

"Ugh.. what?" She asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"You never woke me up! We're going to be late for the graduation exam!" He screamed, wide eyed.

"Oh no.. I thought of failing but not entering! HURRY UP!" She immediately did the genjutsu not bothering to change out of her pajama's since no one would see them and ran after Naruto out the door. Her hair was a mess in the genjutsu and she looked sleepy but other than that she was good. They just managed to get into the class as the bell rang, falling through the door into a two person dog pile.

"Na..Ru..To.. get off of Shinobu-kun!" Several girls screeched. Sometimes Shinobu hated looking like Sasuke, no matter how many times she tried to push these girls away they just wouldn't listen. It ticked her off. Once she untangled herself from Naruto, much to the humour of her friends in the class, she stood up. She had optimistically thought that when she stood up the girls would shut up and leave her alone, maybe bugging Sasuke again. Oh how she hated being wrong. Soon shouts and squeals of 'Kawai!" echoed the room. Seriously? Her hair was a mess and she looked sleepy. That wasn't cute... it was.. bleh. She ignored them, she thought of glaring at them but considering she was still half asleep it would probably have the opposite effect of what was desired. Instead she made her way to her seat.

Iruka ignored them and started taking roll call. By now he was well aware of the trouble they caused and the girls who had started giving Shinobu trouble thinking she was a male. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself at the idea. Those girls would be in for one hell of a shock one day. He quickly finished up before looking at everyone.

"To graduate," He started. "you'll have to do bunshin no jutsu. When you're called come to the next room." He explained. Shinobu could feel her heart drop in her stomache as she looked at Naruto. This was his worst skill. He could barely make one bunshin and it was always useless. Even when she tried to help him with this one he couldn't get it. She looked at her hands, her eyebrows knitted as she thought. _What am I going to do..? Purposely fail so we're together? But what if he passes? What would he think if I passed and he didn't! This wasn't supposed to happen.. _She thought, anxiously awaiting her turn as she watched Naruto walk into the room. So far one person had passed.

"Shinobu!" Iruka called, she went in, not getting a chance to see if Naruto passed or not. She looked at the table and saw eleven headbands left. Her heart throbbed. _He didn't pass... _She felt awful. What was she supposed to do?

"Ok, go." Mizuki sensei said, watching her.

"U-um.. I.. I can't." She stammered. "I can't do this jutsu." She lied. She wouldn't pass without him... she couldn't..

"Shinobu, I understand that you're upset that Naruto didn't make it but I know you can do this jutsu. He'll make it eventually." Iruka told her. She just sighed before performing the jutsu, producing four equally depressed Shinobu's.

"You pass.. Come get your headband." Iruka said softly, understanding she was upset. Shinobu walked over and picked one up, slipping it into her pocket before walking back out. She ignored the whispers and people wondering where her headband was. She didn't care. She ignored the assigned seating and stole Sasuke's seat next to Naruto when he was called. She may have been forced closer to fangirls but she wanted to be there for Naruto.

"Naru..? You ok?" She whispered.

"I didn't make it.. I really wanted to graduate.." He whispered back, his eyes shining with unshed tears. She wanted to hug him so badly but resisted because she knew it would look bad on both of them. He didn't talk again after that.

"Naru..Naruto!" Shinobu called after him, he had left the room as quickly as he could when everyone was done. She tried to follow but got caught up in the crowd of parents and genin. She felt horrible. Her best friend didn't pass. She's going home to an empty house. She felt really alone. It didn't help to hear all of the parents talking about favourite dinners and how proud they were.. her family didn't want her.. her family was dead. She tried to shake her head of these thoughts but couldn't. She was strong, she graduated, she could almost keep up with her brother.. but almost wasn't good enough. Her family would never want her.. she wasn't good enough.

She watched the crowd.. tears started streaming down her face. Why didn't they want her? It wasn't fair! _I hadn't done anything then.. I could have been stronger.. I could have.. _She rubbed her eyes in frustration, willing her tears to go away. But they never went away. Crying came second nature to her. It's something she had done almost everyday since she was born. She was weak, she was unwanted, she wasn't good enough. These thoughts would always plague her.

* * *

><p><strong>Iruka POV<strong>

Iruka watched the hokage, guilt filling his mind. He had just been on the recieving end of a lecture on what it was like to be an orphan. About how Naruto never knew what it was like to have a parents love. About how he was alone. Iruka sighed, he cared for the boy, he wanted him to be strong.. but he couldn't help but have a small part of him be angry. Not at the boy.. but the demon inside him. Naruto had to deal with the hatred towards the demon so much it was becoming hatred for the boy himself.

Iruka thought that would be the end of the lecture. He'd be sent home to think about it but the Hokage kept talking. These new words sounded foreign as his jaw dropped and his eyes widened.

"Shinobu has felt similar pain." He had started. "She's been there for him, in fact I'm pretty sure they have been living together as family for a couple of years now. But her pain is different. Unlike Naruto's parents who died to protect him and this village.. Shinobu's parents didn't care for the girl. Her father cast her out before she was even born and she was left in the streets the day she was born. Girls were weak to him. So she was alone. She's lived with thoughts of not being good enough of being weak. Because of that she desperately tries to become stronger, to show the world she's just as strong as her twin brother who wasn't cast out."

Iruka watched as he explained this, not quite understanding. Who was her twin brother? Why didn't I notice?

"She has graduated, but instead of feeling accomplished she feels bad. Her brother beat her again and while the other young students were getting praise from their parents she was alone. She feels like she failed her family and betrayed Naruto. Iruka.. Shinobu's family died, when she was seven. She has no one except for Naruto. Her only living relatives are a traitor and a boy she's trying desperately to earn acknowledgment from." The hokage paused as Iruka processed the information.

"Sasuke.. Shinobu is related to Sasuke?" He asked, eyes wide. She always fought to beat him. She was so close but she never could. It explained everything. Why she watched him. Why she always seemed so hurt when she lost. "How could the Uchiha's just leave her without anyone knowing?" He asked suddenly, outraged with Fugaku.

"Fugaku informed us that she died during birth. That only Sasuke survived. No one, not even her brothers, knew she existed." He explained. Iruka just let the information sink in, in silence. The life of a shinobi.. starts at a young age. It's a life of pain and loss, but to start at an age so young? To have your whole life destroyed because of the desire to gain power? He couldn't imagine.

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

Shinobu let the tears wash over her as she took the long way home, stopping by her old ally. The little shelter was in there. She walked towards it before crawling into the entrance. It was the same. The only difference was a small carving on the wall of some couple who decided they loved each other and made this place their own. She sighed, running her fingers over the wood.

"I wonder what my life would be like if I had been able to stay home.." she whispered to herself, making her way to the Uchiha compound. She entered and followed a distant memory to her families house. She had been their twice. Once when she was born.. and once to deliver food. She entered, walking around and seeing dusty family pictures excluding her. She walked around exploring, when she entered the one room her heart threw itself into her throat. There was an outline of two bodies.. her mother died here.

"What are you doing in here?" A voice demanded from behind her, she spun around to see her brother.

"N-nothing.. I was exploring.. sorry.. is this your home?" She stammered.

"Yes.. get out.." He growled.

"Sorry.." She mumbled before running past him to get away from the compound. _Why did I think it was a good idea to go there? Stupid stupid Shinobu..._

* * *

><p>That night she cried herself to sleep. Naruto never came home. She was worried but knew she wouldn't be able to find the boy if he didn't want to be found. If he was good at anything it was hiding. When he wanted to of course. When Shinobu woke up she burst into tears. Naruto still wasn't there. She had been ready to wake him, but he was gone. She sniffled trying to regain her composure as she made her ramen.<p>

"Shinobu!" Naruto called, bursting through the door. Shinobu looked up with red puffy eyes which were wide in shock.

"Naruto...? Where have you been?" She cried, running and hugging him catching him off guard. He felt so warm, so comforting to be wrapped in his arms. She never wanted to leave him.

"What's wrong.. why are you crying?" He asked, oblivious as usual, while gently petting her hair. He was confused as hell.

"You honestly don't know?" She asked looking up at him in shock. When he shook his head she scowled. "You never came home! You disappeared. I haven't seen you since the grad exam!" She shouted, trying not to cry again.

"I'm sorry.. it's just.. I was talking to _Mizuki_," He said his name odd.. like he was scum. "and he told me of a way to pass the exam. I did it but found out the baka tricked me. But Iruka passed me anyway! We're both genin!" He grinned and Shinobu found herself grinning with him. She found it hard to stay mad at him, even when she wanted to. She hugged him again before looking at him.

"That's great. But if you ever leave again I'll kill you. And if you die I'll kill you. Got it?" She said in all seriousness causing him to shiver.

"H-hai." He stammered before they both laughed. She should have known better.. Naruto would never leave her.. he'd always be there.. just like she'd always be there... right?

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This chapter is really long to make up for last chapter which frankly sucked and was short. I really hope you like it :D Next chapter is teams! :D Also a note: It took longer to update because FF wasn't letting me. I had this done early yesterday.**

**Song is 'Failure by Design' by Brand new.**


	10. Teamwork

**A/N: There is a small failure in my idea for story chapters O.o I have the odd chapter planned out and I had the first 6 or so chapters planned but now it's like UUUUUUUUH *scrambling through internet looking for songs* lol. I think half of the time you guys wait for the update is just looking for songs XD Anyway, I hope you like this :) Thanks to Linda Ku, ThePheonixofTears and Alli ate Sora-Sorry Roxas for reviewing.**

* * *

><p><strong>Special note: Along with my last update I got 385 hits in one day.. I was floored at this number and because of that I thank all of you so much! :D This chapter is extremely long in thanks to that :D (well not really but oh well XD)<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

It had been a good week or so since the exam and unbeknownst to the other genin, both Naruto and Shinobu had passed. Since then Naruto had refused to wear his headband in fear of scratching it. It was probably because of this that Konohamaru, the hokage's grandson, had seen him as more of a rival than a sempai. Naruto had spent several hours teaching Konohamaru his renowned sexy-no-jutsu which Konohamaru had in turn showed his tutor, Ebisu. At first Shinobu rolled her eyes at her friend's influence in the boys training but she soon realized he must have done something right because she often saw him training at the academy now and he was always trying his best.

Now they were both getting ready for some orientation meeting? Or was it an acceptance meeting. She wasn't quite sure. Naruto already had his forehead protector wrapped around his head. Shinobu on the other hand was confused. She tried placing it on her forehead but it just looked.. off. She had seen other ninja wear them in different places but it felt weird on her arm and it was suffocating on her neck. She sighed in frustration, looking at her reflection.

"Oi! What's taking you so long, Shinobu?" Naruto asked, already finished with everything and now waiting for her.

"I can't figure out where I should put this.." She mumbled, gesturing towards the Hitai-ate now laying on her dresser.

"Why not your forehead?" He suggested in confusion, it didn't seem like all that hard of a decision to him.

"It looks off! That's why." She grumbled. Ignoring him as he rolled his eyes. She continued looking in the mirror before she saw Naruto pick up her forehead protector out of the corner of her eye. She looked at him curiously only to feel him behind her, wrapping it around her neck.

"It looks pretty like that.." He mumbled. "And then no one could cut off your head or something." He grinned at her. Looking at the mirror again, it was looser than she had it. It did look better like that.

"Thanks." She smiled, giving him a quick hug before they started towards the academy. This would be the last time they'd be there as students.

When they got their they split up into their arranged seating. Shinobu smirking to herself in the corner while Naruto was laughing to himself beside Sasuke. Of course, their odd peace would never laugh long. Ino and Sakura burst in, wheezing and out of breath.

"I won!" Ino yelled only to be followed up with some comment about Sakura's toe being in the classroom first. Their rivalry was pathetic in Shinobu's opinion. They didn't even use it to become stronger. Sakura was the worst of the two and the couldn't help but grimace as the pink headed girl made her way to Sasuke. Quickly pushing Naruto out of the way to sit next to him. Shinobu inwardly growled. She was quickly distracted though. Somewhere since she had got here Ino had jumped off the Sasuke ship, great right? Wrong. She had joined the "Let's stalk Shinobu" band wagon. She wasn't nearly as bad as Sakura was but she was still pretty awful. Shinobu could imagine them being friends if the girl didn't think she was in love with her. Her rivalry with Sakura turned from who would get Sasuke to who could get the hot guy in the class first. Not that Shinobu classified. They were often seen argueing about which one was the better looking, Sasuke or Shinobu. Shinobu inwardly laughed at the irony every time. They were identical twins, it was a fail if she ever saw one.

"Can I sit next to you?" Ino asked. At least she was polite, unlike some of the other girls. Seriously, what person with any self-respect yells "Have my babies!" to a random guy they don't really know?

"Hm.. I'd say yes but I think we're in assigned seating. That and Shikamaru looks like he misses you." Shinobu grinned at the lazy boy who was silently mouthing for her to accept. She watched as Ino looked at him then back at her.

"I'm sure he doesn't care.. I just.. I like you." She stammered a bit. Shinobu felt honestly guilty. Ino would feel like a fool when she found out.

"I'm fine with you sitting next to me. But assigned seating. Maybe we could hang out later?" Shinobu suggested, she was hoping to make a friend and get Ino off her back for now. She might regret it later.. but who knows.

"Alright! I'll see you later then?" She smiled before running back over to her seat where Shika was. He was pretending to off himself. Shinobu couldn't help but laugh. Shikamaru and Ino had gotten stuck together for seating and many assignments. Shinobu guessed it had something to do with their parents team dynamic and she wouldn't be surprised if the renowned trio's children were put on the same team. She had thought about teaming and figure that Sasuke and Naruto would be on the same team because of the difference in their marks. Maybe Sakura? Ino, Shikamaru and Choji would be together because of their parents. Then Hinata, Kiba and Shino might be together as a tracking team. None of the other people in the class seemed to fit into distinct teams, herself included so she had no clue where she would be placed.

She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard several outraged screams. Whipping her head around to wear the came from she was shocked to see Naruto kissing her brother. She stared wide eyes, most of the guys in the class were laughing while the girls were screaming in anger. _What did the idiot do now?_

* * *

><p><strong>Hokage POV<strong>

All of the jonin leaders were looking at the scene through the Hokage's crystal ball. Naruto had just beened bumped into Sasuke causing the two to kiss. The sensei were looking at their teams and their reactions. But all of them noticed the quiet boy sitting in the corner watching in shock. Sakura was getting extremely mad with the rest of the girls and you could see them move in to hurt a disheveled Naruto. It was when the first punch was thrown that they saw the same quiet boy quickly make his way over to where Naruto was.

"Oi! Leave him alone. He got bumped into Sasuke. Neither one of them did it on purpose so stop being fangirls towards some boy that is NEVER going to like you back!" She snapped. The hokage watched the scene as well as the reactions of his jonin shinobi. Some of them looked embarrassed, others impressed. They were all definitely curious.

"That's Shinobu right? Uchiha?" Kurenai asked earning a nod from the Hokage.

"B-but! He kissed Sasuke!" One of the girls stammered. Everyong could see an obvious eye roll from Shinobu.

"By accident? It's not like he grabbed him and kissed him on purpose. What's your damage. It's not like Sasuke is your boyfriend. He doesn't even talk to any of you." She stated, pointing out the obvious but the girls looked appalled.

"You don't get it! I was supposed to be his first kiss! You're a boy.. why would you understand. He violated Sasuke!" Another girl screeched. She was obviously not a Shinobu fan girl though she earned a few glares.

"I repeat.. he hasn't even talked to you. Why would he kiss you?" Shinobu scoffed.

"Because! He's mine." The girl said, she was seriously starting to make Shinobu mad, if the tic mark on her forehead was any indicator.

"I doubt most of these girls will make it as Shinobi.." Asuma grumbled while watching. Shinobu was rather impressive though.

"Oh my god.. are you deaf?" Shinobu shouted. "Even so that's no reason to beat Naruto up just because of an accident!"

"But he violated him! It wasn't an accident I saw!" The girl shot back, Shinobu growled and stomped her way over to where Sasuke was. He looked up at her in mild-interest before he found himself kissing what he thought was his second boy that day.

"There! I kissed him too. Are you going to beat me up too? Or anyone who kisses the guy?" She yelled, then froze on the spot. The girls didn't look mad at her like they were with Naruto. In fact, it was quite the opposite. They were all drooling and you could see the hearts in their eyes.

"I give up.. girls are nutters." She grumbled, rubbing her temple before plopping back down into her seat. Of course all of her friends heard so they were now laghing their rears off. Sasuke looked confused as hell and Naruto was now safe because all the girls had long forgotten him.

"I think that girl has twisted logic.." Kakashi facepalmed. Was she not a girl herself?

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

Shinobu sat back down rubbing her temples. _What's wrong with those girls? That makes no sense what so ever? Ugh.. I'm confused. _She pushed the incident into the back of her brain in hopes of forgetting it as Iruka walked in. She had just kissed her brother.. that was the first type of any affection she's had with her brother and she was extremely embarrassed.

"Starting today you are all real shinobi.. but you are still genin." Iruka started, quickly grabbing the attention of the rest of the class. "The hard journey that lies ahead has just started." He smiled. _Motivational speech?... can't we just find out our teams and leave? _Shinobu sighed.

"Now you will soon get missions to help the village. So today we will create the three man teams.. and each team will have a jonin sensei." He continued to explain. "You will follow your sensei's instructions in order to succesfully complete your missions. We've tried to balance each team's strength.. so let's get started." He smiled before starting, the first team or so Shinobu didn't recognize at all. She wasn't paying attention until a name perked her attention.

"Okay, next is team seven. Naruto Uzumaki.. Haruno Sakura." Shinobu inwardly laughed as Naruto cheered, he'd always crushed on the girl. Sakura's head however was hung low, she didn't like Naruto so much. "And Uchiha Sasuke!" The position switched in an instant, Sakura cheered while Naruto hung his head. Shinobu noticed Ino's eyes burning from where she was sitting. Probably her hoping that she didn't lose to Sakura. Shinobu sighed when Naruto started yelling about how he was on the same team as Sasuke. Sure she loved him but he could be a real dunce sometimes. He had the lowest score of all twenty-eight graduates. He had the highest. Of course they'd be on the same team.

"Ok.. on with things! Team eight!" Iruka shouted out. "Hyuuga Hinata.. Aburame Shino and Inuzuka Kiba!" He announced quickly moving on, Naruto had wasted a lot of time apparently. "Last but not least, team ten. Yamanaka Ino.. " Shinobu saw the girl look at her. Shinobu admitted she was worried. She wasn't on a team yet.. and she wouldn't be placed on the Ino-Shika-Cho dynamic would she? It wouldn't work. "Nara Shikamaru.. and Akamichi Choji." He finished and Shinobu sat there in shock. She wasn't on a team? What's going on?

"So as some of you may have noticed we have an odd number of people this year. Because of this there will be one team of four. Shinobu, I'll talk to you in a moment. For the rest of you, you'll need to be here in a few hours for your new sensei picks you up." He said, a lot of the students were talking and whispering while Iruka led Shinobu into the hall.

"Iruka sensei.. what's going on?" Shinobu asked nervously.

"Because of the imbalance you are going to join a team of three as a team of four. It took a lot of thought on the Hokage's part for this. We didn't want a complete power house team. Because of the family rules you can't be on Team seven because of your brother.." he started, Shinobu felt shocked at first but realized that the Hokage probably had to tell all of the teachers.

"I'm sure you know about Ino-Shika-Cho already." Shinobu nodded. "So we've decided to put you on team eight. I know it's mainly tracking but I'm sure you'll be of value to the team. You can go tell them or just tag along if you'd like. Kurenai, your jonin sensei, knows you are on her team." He explained. It did make sense.

"Alright... thanks." She smiled, picking up her genjutsu which she had temporarily dropped. Shinobu made her way back into the classroom smiling to herself. She was friends with Kiba and Hinata was one of the few girls who weren't guy obsessed. She was sure that they'd get along. Shino was quiet.. but they could be friends.

"What team are you on?" Kiba, Shikamaru, Choji and Naruto asked simultaneously. They had all apparently been waiting for her.

"I'm with Kiba on team eight." She grinned, Naruto looked a little disappointed but there was nothing she could do.

"Yes! This is going to be awesome!" Kiba grinned. Shinobu knew she'd have to tell her team she was a girl eventually.. but she'd let them get to know her better first.

* * *

><p><strong>Kakashi POV<strong>

"So this is where Naruto lives?" Kakashi asked, picking up a carton of milk that was on the kitchen table. _This milk went bad a couple days ago.. _

"Yes. Naruto isn't very smart. But I think giving him to you is the best, you have a nose for these types." Sarutobi explained. "Plus your team will have Sasuke of the Uchiha clan. Good luck!" He said before disappearing.

"Yes sir.." Kakashi sighed looking around. _This could be troublesome. _He walked into what he had first thought was Naruto's bedroom. He looked around seeing training materials. It wasn't how he had imagined Naruto's bedroom looking. He expected tons of orange, not blue, the training supplies he expected but he had also imagined it being a lot more disorganized. He walked over to the dresser and froze. _A training bra? Naruto isn't a girl.. there's someone else living with him?_

He looked around the room once more before leaving and going into a different room, causing him to chuckle. It was a mess and there was a lot of orange. This must have been Naruto's room.. but then who was he living with?

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

Shinobu sat in silence along with her new team. There were only three teams left and they were one of them. Kurenai-sensei hadn't shown up yet. Not that she minded. The silence was comfortable.. for everyone except Naruto, Kiba and Sakura. Shino was looking at a bug, Shikamaru was sleeping, Hinata was doodling on a sketchbook Ino was watching Shinobu, Sasuke was staring with killing intent at the chalkboard, Choji was eating and Shinobu was drawing a little set of wings on her wrist.

Suddenly the door opened and Shinobu looked up to see a beautiful woman with red eyes and dark curly hair. She smiled at everyone before walking over to their group.

"I'm your new sensei. If you'd like to follow me I can explain how everything is going to work." She said, motioning for them to follow as she walked out the door. Shinobu waved at her other friends before leaving with her team. They passed a man who was smoking as they left and before they knew it they were at the training field. Kurenai standing as the four genin sat infront of the old stone monument.

"Ok.. for starts let's get to know everyone. My name is Kurenai, and this is my first team. I will do my best to help you grow up to be great Shinobi and a valuable part of our village." She smiled.

"I'm Inuzuka Kiba! This is my ninken Akamaru. He's always with me. I'm friends with Shinobu over here and I'm going to be really kick ass." Kiba grinned while Akamaru yipped in agreement. Kurenai frowned at his language but let it pass for now.

"I'm Shinobu. I'm the unintentional member of this group and I specialize in taijutsu. I need to work on my ninjutsu but I'm decent at genjutsu. I already know Kiba and Akamaru and I hope to get to know you all better." She smiled, trying her best to help the teacher out. It was better to just mention her weakness now so that Kurenai could help her fix it.

"M-my name is H-hyuuga Hinata. I-I hope I c-can be a strong member of t-this team." Hinata smiled, she seemed so shy. Hopefully she would open up and become less nervous after a while.

"Aburame Shino. I like and use bugs. You will get to know me when I start to trust you." He stated matter of factly earning an exaggerated facepalm from Kiba."

"Alright then! Time to explain." Kurenai started, looking slightly nervous. "You first have a test.. you are not actually genin yet. You see, only nine.. or possibly ten," She paused looking at Shinobu. "of the twenty-eight graduates will become genin. Anyone who fails this test will be sent back to the academy. It has a sixty-six percent drop out rate. I like you guys so I hope you'll do well, but take it seriously." She explained, Kiba looked flabbergasted while Shinobu and Hinata just looked nervous. Shino looked like he didn't care either way.

"Sensei.. what was the point of graduating if we are just going to take another test again after?" Kiba yelled.

"The graduation is to see who has the potential to become genin. Unless you can use your skills on the field. You won't be able to complete missions. Which is why we have another test." She explained, Shinobu nodded to herself. It made sense. The graduation was to see if we had the skills. This test is to see if we can use them.

"Most of the other teams will be doing their test tomorrow, some of the other teachers can be rather cruel with them." She paused to grimace. "But I'd rather just do it today. I'd like to know whether or not you will in fact be my team." She said.

"So.. what exactly is the test?" Shinobu asked, she had the feeling it wasn't going to be quite what it seemed. She had talked to Iruka about his genin years and he had told her how important teamwork was. That nothing was as it seemed. The test probably would show that. She hoped anyway. It would be awful if she was trying to look underneath the underneath only to realize that she just had to complete the test.

"It's going to be the obstacle course over there." She said pointing to a gigantic obstacle course running through the entire training grounds. "You have one hour to complete it." She explained. "The moment any one of you starts I will start the timer. Good luck." She smiled as we made our way over. The course looked insane. There was a series of broken monkey bars with giant gaps and it was over a rather large pit. There were jumping stones surrounded by explosive tags. There was a lot there.

She looked over to Shino, he seemed really smart and judging by his expression he already figured it out. Hinata seemed confused at first but also figured it out. _There's no way we can make it across half of those gaps alone.. This is about teamwork._

Before she had a chance to tell Kiba or even look at him he had jumped to the first monkey bar, he missed and hit an explosion tag causing him to scream in pain and stumble back to the start. Luckily he just barely missed the pit.

"How the hell are we supposed to do this?" He yelled in frustration.

"Kiba-kun.. I-i think w-we need to work together." Hinata spoke first. I smiled.

"Yup. There's no way any one of us could make it across alone. We need to help each other. Speaking of which, the timer started, anyone have any ideas how to reach the first bar without falling into the pit? The moment we're in there we won't be able to get out easily, it'll waste too much time.

"Shinobu, come here." Shino said, analyzing the course. When she was close enough Shino interlocked his fingers creating a step.

"Knowing your team helps you out.. as much as knowing your enemies. You like dance and gymnastics right? If you jump from me you'll have a height advantage and will be able to grab the bar, from there you just need to catch whoever jumps next. Probably Hinata so she can help you stay on the bar when you catch one of us because we're heavier." Shino explained while getting Shinobu to stand on his shoulders. Kurenai was smiling from behind them, they figured it out really quick, she hadn't expected that. This would definitely be her team.

Shinobu felt Shino brace below her and she jumped as hard as she could hoping to reach the bar. She mentally freaked out when she over-shot and grabbed the second bar, luckily the two were close enough that she could swing back.

"Wooo! Go Shinobu!" Kiba yelled, grinning. Shinobu smiled and swung a couple of times to get her feet up to the second bar while her hands gripped the first, using the second bar as a step she hooked her knees on the first bar and locked her ankles under the second. She didn't want to fall, she cautiously let her hands go and found herself facing her upside down teammates.

"Hinata, I'm good! Jump. All you have to do is make sure your hands are up. I'll catch you." She called over. Hinata looked nervous and Shinobu really hoped she would trust her. She saw her bite her lip for a minute before running towards the edge and jumping. Shinobu's eyebrows knitted a little in concentration before she managed to grab Hinata's forearms. Hinata quickly grabbed her arms in return.

"H-how do I get up?" She asked looking at Shinobu.

"Just swing your feet, see the second bar behind me? If you can get your feet on that you could probably sit on top of the bars." Shinobu explained, she was tempted to point at the bar if it weren't for the fact she'd drop Hinata if she did.

"O-ok." She said before swinging slightly. Shinobu felt the weight on her arms increase a little before decreasing dramatically when Hinata managed. She quickly did a sit up type movement to get Hinata's arms on the bar before swinging back down and preparing for the next person.

She knew carrying Kiba's weight would be a little painful because he was a guy and because he was carrying Akamaru in his sweater but she thought she'd manage. When he jumped she grabbed his arms and felt her arms jolt under the weight.

"You ok?" He asked in concern, already trying to get on the bar to get the weight off her arms as soon as possible.

"Y-yup. Just hurry up." She winced before the weight was free'd. She saw him take the same position she was in.

"I can get Shino, I don't want you getting hurt. We're going to need all of us to get through this." He grinned.

"Alright, thanks Kiba." She said, sitting up before sitting on the second bar with Hinata. She didn't want to put too much weight on one bar incase it collapsed. Shinobu watched in horror as Shino jumped and his finger tips just missed Kiba's. Instead of falling however she saw some black thread or something wrap around both of their wrists pulling him up until they were both on top of the first bar.

"What was that?" Kiba asked, slightly mortified.

"I like bugs.. my clan uses them in the majority of their jutsu's. Those were my bugs." He explained. Shinobu shuddered slightly, she never did like bugs but she'd get used to them.

"Ok.. from here we can probably jump along top of the bars, even if we fall we can probably grab them." She said, trying to reassure herself before she took several leaps until she was several bars ahead. Kiba and Shino followed with Hinata a hair behind them, but something was off about the next bar.

"Hinata.. you have byakugan.. right?" Shinobu asked, trying not to waste time.

"Y-yes.. why?" She answered, not sure of herself.

"Can you look at the next bar and the area around it. It seems off." She explained, Hinata nodded before scanning it. Her eyes looked weird like that.

"It s-seems like they're c-connected.. It's almost a w-weight system. M-my guess is t-that if more than one bar has weight on it at a time or a s-second weight is added t-to a pre-occupied bar it w-will fall." She stammered.

"So we'll go one at a time? Ok.." Shinobu said before jumping to the first bar, when she swung to the second however the first one fell. "Uh oh.."

"How do we do that then?" Kiba asked, annoyance clear in his face. He wasn't very patient now that Shinobu thought about it.

"It seems that each bar can only be used once.. We'll have to move as one.. Who here weighs the most?" Shino asked, taking note of Shinobu's blush at the moment.

"I probably do." She muttered.

"Then you'll have to carry us. We wan't as little weight as possible on the person doing this. Which is probably best since you're already there." He explained and soon Shinobu felt a weight around her waist as Shino gripped it hanging there.

"You ok?" He asked quietly.

"Yup.. just hurry. I'm not really good at endurance strength." She explained, wincing as Kiba joined, hanging on Shino's weight. After that Hinata's weight didn't make much of a difference but her arms were aching.

"Hinata! I need you to swing, the more you guys swing the more momentum I'll have to reach the next bar, I won't be able to reach it unless you guys help."

"W-wait. Would it be easier to a-alternate? What if we all swing a-and I g-grab the next bar? T-then you'll get a break and w-we'll always have someone on a bar." She asked. She was answered when they started swinging until the group were parallel with the ground. Hinata hooked her knees on the next bar just as the last one dropped causing Shinobu to get butterflies as she swung forward just managing to grab the next bar before swinging Hinata towards the next. It felt like a big drop on a rollercoaster. Luckily she wasn't the type to get nauseous at those type of things.

Kurenai watched in amusement as her team swung like a slinky down the stairs except they went from bar to bar. They were definitely creative. She hadn't expected them to be this good or succeed. She was planning on letting them pass for trying their best with team work. But this was only the taijutsu part of the course, to see how well they knew how to use their bodies. They hadn't made it to the other parts and they were already a good eighteen minutes in.

Shinobu was now on the last bar, sighing relief as Shino dropped to the pillar below them. She shimmied over before dropping on the last pillar. There were four and they were now surrounded by explosion tags. The first set of four had an outline of two feet in a glowing blue colour. The next however had an outline of a hand. The pillars ranged in height and width and there was only one at the end. They'd have to take turns. She turned to see Kiba getting ready to jump.

"Kiba! Don't jump!" Shinobu shouted, catching him off guard. "Look at the outlines. You have to land on your hand!" She shouted. Shino groaned quietly beside her. It was her guess that he wasn't good at this. But she wasn't sure if there was a way to help him. She sighed rubbing her temples.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Will Shino make it across? Why is there only one pillar at the end? What did Kurenai mean when she said they were only through the taijutsu section? Find out next chapter! (I would have stuck it in this chapter but it was already 4,600 something words long XD)**

**Note: The song is Teamwork from the kids show Lazy town. Yes I know it's childish but when I heard it I just couldn't help myself XD **


	11. Teamwork Part Two

**A/N: Thanks to Alli at Sora-Sorry Roxas and DutchyPuppy for the reviews :D The continuation of last chappy. Will they pass the test? Find out XD I'm updating super quick because along with the loverly ninja-ness I'm enjoying writing a little more :D plus I just love this test. I figure that not everyone does the bell test so I wanted to do something different that still shows teamwork. Hope you guys like it :D**

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

_"Kiba! Don't jump!" Shinobu shouted, catching him off guard. "Look at the outlines. You have to land on your hand!" She shouted. Shino groaned quietly beside her. It was her guess that he wasn't good at this. But she wasn't sure if there was a way to help him. She sighed rubbing her temples. _

Everything about this made you think, overanalyze. Not only was she worried about herself she had to look out for her comrads. It was more difficult than she expected. She looked at the signs on the pillars. After the one she was on it was hand, foot, hands, foot, feet, hand, foot, hand, hands, feet, hands. Hands being the single pillar at the end. Maybe she could go down her own line of pillars, then go back for Shino? Or maybe he could switch over pillars, if they could only be used once she could try to leave her feet symbols for him.

"Hinata.." She started but was stopped with a curt "I-i'm on it." The girl caught on quick.

"It looks like each one c-can be used only once. T-then it'll change colour, r-red I think. If y-you land on a red one it w-will explode." She explained.

"Ok.. Shino.. see how ours are almost opposite? Every time I have one that has a hand symbol you have a foot symbol." Shinobu told him. Shino nodded, for being their first test or anything together they seemed to understand eachother. He didn't ask if she was sure or if she could do it. He just believed in her and thanked her.

"Now the only problem is going to be the last stone.. There is only one at the end. Once we leave it we can't touch it again so who here is good at handstands?" Shinobu asked. Nobody moved. Shinobu sighed. "I got it, but you're all learning hand stands and stuff when we're an official team." She said, sure that they'd make it. It seemed to boost their moods a bit because even Hinata was grinning now.

"We need to go at around the same time. I can't hold a handstand for several minutes so I need to have you guys just behind me." She explained earning a couple of nods, the moment she started the rest of them followed, she and Shino were weaving back and forth so that he could use his feet. He'd have to learn but they had a time limit and she wasn't going to risk his safety right now. Her wrists were a little sore but she kept flipping back and forth getting one chance to stand at the end where they all had feet outlines before she was in a hand stand, knees bent into a flat surface. If she was lucky she wouldn't loose her balance. She felt Hinata quickly push her knees down as she flew by quickly followed by the others. She bounced once or twice before getting the right momentum to flip off and land on the other side where there were no more explosion tags.

"H-how long do you think it's been?" Hinata asked.

"I think it's been around half an hour." Kiba said, hands on his knees as he took a couple of deep breaths.

"Do we have time for a break?" Shinobu asked, sitting on the ground while rubbing her wrists.

"A quick one.. if needed one of us will carry you." Shino spoke, she couldn't believe how quickly they were getting long. They all had realized they'd be together for a long time and that these friendships would last the rest of their lives. They weren't going to be cold or distant because they knew they had to trust each other to pass.

"I'm good.." Shinobu took a deep breath. "Let's go." She got up and started making her way forward there was a hedge maze just taller than them.

"How are we doing this one?" Kiba asked eyeing the maze.

"Does anyone have fire jutsu here?" Shino asked. I quickly nodded. "We should go in groups of two. One with me and one with you. If you burn the bush every once in a while with arrows in the direction you came from you can't get lost. I'll leave my bugs every few feet. If either group gets to the end, do a jutsu to alert the other group and show them which direction to go. There is probably only one route so the group still in the maze can go back and follow the other groups trail. Cross out your arrows if they lead to a dead end and they backtrack." He told them and Shinobu was very happy they were on the same team.

"I-i'll go with Shinobu." Hinata said and they all entered in the maze. Shinobua and Hinata went to the right and it wasn't long before they couldn't even hear their teammates voices.

"Hinata, you might want to back up a little bit." Shinobu warned, forming some hand signs before performing her jutsu with less chakra so it would less a scorch mark pointing in the direction they were walking. They spent a good five minutes doing this before Shinobu froze.. there were scorch marks ahead of them already.

"Shinobu... I t-think we're in a genjutsu." Hinata stammered.

"Ya.. I do too.." Shinobu muttered before releasing it, confirming their suspicioun. After that it had only take a couple of moments before they were outside the maze. Shinobu looked around to see that their team hadn't made it out yet.

"We have no way of letting them know it's a genjutsu but we can send a jutsu to show them the way." She said, taking a big breath before releasing a large fireball into the air. Kurenai's eyes widened as she watched. Genin weren't supposed to have enough chakra for jutsu like that. After the jutsu was over she watched the entrance for a good five minutes. They weren't coming out.

"We need to go back in and get them." She muttered before walking back towards the maze. She was about to enter when she was pushed away by what appeared to be an invisible force.

"What was that?" Shinobu looked shocked.

"I-i don't know." Hinata said, focusing her chakra into her eyes. "B-but it's made up of chakra, their are no patterns or chakra routes." She informed Shinobu. The both watched in horror as the invisible force morphed into what appeared to be a black screen. On it, were their teammates. Shino was standing shakily infront of Kiba who was bleeding out on the ground.

"W-what.." Shinobu said in awed shock before attempting to run past the screen only to get hit back again. She tried attacking it but she just got pushed back. She sighed before moving her hands into the all too familiar seals as quickly as she good. Hinata was attacking right now and she needed to make sure they got to their friends in time.

"Hinata. Now! Katon! Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" Shinobu shouted, letting another fire jutsu hit the screen like figure. She screamed in shock and pain when her skin began to burn. She looked at her hands in horror and saw the burn spreading up her arms.

"S-shinobu!" Hinata cried out, running back to see if she was alright.

"It's another genjutsu! That's us! It only attacks us as much as we can attack it.." She mumbled.

"S-so what would happen if we r-ran out of chakra?" Hinata asked wearily.

"Let's find out. You keep your chakra. If this works, then you need to get rid of it." Shinobu said before facing the other way and shouting. "Katon! Goukakyuu no Jutsu! Katon! Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" She paused taking a deep breath. "K-Katon! Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

"A-are you ok?" Hinata asked, obviously concerned. This was her team and she was proving herself fairly useless already.. She wanted to do something to help.

"Y-ya. Thanks." Shinobu grinned at her before walking towards the barrier, she winced as she stepped into the maze but felt no pain except for the burns on her arms.

"We might need your chakra. I'll go get them ok? Could you try to figure out the next part?" Shinobu ask, she trusted Hinata. She had issues with self-esteem but she was strong and she was trying.

"Y-yes. I c-can. Good luck!" She waved before turning around and activating her byakugan. Shinobu sighed and followed the scorch marks back to the beginning of the maze before following the bugs. Whenever she got near one they'd fly in front of her to let her know she was going in the right direction.

"I don't get it! Why can't we find the end! The girls are already out!" Kiba growled in frustration.

"It's because Shino already sent out all his bugs so he can't sense the chakra change. You are in a genjutsu, baka." Shinobu explained with a smirk, watching as they released it. "We went through the same thing but we noticed it." She said, motioning for them to follow her.

"Where's Hinata?" Shino asked in concern.

"There was another jutsu guarding the maze entrance, it causes your own chakra and jutsu to attack you. The only way we could get in was to get rid of our chakra. I didn't want to waste both of our chakra supplies so since I was lower I went in. She's trying to figure out the next part." She explained as they walked out of the maze, both of the boys went wide eyed as they saw the thing behind them. It was showing them in the maze but one of them was bleeding.

"What the hell is that?" Kiba shouted.

"We don't know.. but it caused us to try and get in." She muttered, the image scared her. She didn't want to lose another important person. Kiba looked like he was going to say something but he was interupted by a loud scream from somewhere in front of them.

"Shit!" Kiba shouted before running towards Hinata with Shino and Shinobu hot on his trail. Shinobu wanted to comment on the cussing but it really wasn't the time. When they got there Hinata was facing an enemy ninja.

"Is this even part of the test anymore?" Shinobu growled.

"I d-don't know. S-sorry. I got hit, I d-didn't mean to startle you g-guys." Hinata apologized and Shinobu rolled her eyes.

"Don't apologize, you did nothing wrong. Can you block the guys chakra? We don't want him using jutsu." Shinobu called out. Hinata nodded before setting in to attack. She took a couple of hits and missed some of her own but managed to block the main chakra reserves.

"Shino.. That bug thing you did earlier.. Can you-" Shinobu started.

"Got it." He said, bugs were already moving towards the ninja, chunin by the looks of it, rendering him immobile. She didn't even get to ask Kiba to do anything before he was already beating the living day lights out of the guy. Shino released his bugs when the guy was unconscious. Shinobu felt bad for not helping more but she did her share earlier. They made a good team. They were about to go to the finish line when the ninja stood up before poofing into a cloud of smoke, all four of them going into fighting stances.

"Good job defeating me." Iruka smiled leaving them all dumbfounded. "This definitely tested your skills against an opponent but be careful, not all opponents will be as easy as I was." He warned.

"Yes! We beat our sensei! We're awesome!" Kiba grinned while punching the air. Iruka grew a tick mark on his forehead. Apparently Kiba was the only one who noticed that Iruka had let them win.

"You did a great job." Kurenai appeared with a smale smile. "But it's been an hour and fifteen minutes. You didn't make it in the time limit." She paused looking at them and Shinobu's heart sank in her chest. Kiba looked furious while Hinata looked like she was going to cry.. this was her team.. this was supposed to be her team. Time limit aside they worked together and finished. How could they not pass?

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Aaah the joys of a cliff hanger. I've realized something epic today. I have over a hundred more hits on this than I do for my story "Mirror". Mirror is 21 chapters long. This one is 10. Thanks so much everyone! :D**


	12. Never Say Never

**A/N: Thanks to DutchyPuppy, ThePheonixOfTears and Alli ate Sora-Sorry Roxas for the reviews :D they all made me smile :D ENJOY!**

* * *

><p><strong>A special note to ALL reviewers. Though I used to PM a response to each and every one of you to show my appreciation I am no longer allowed to use the fanfiction PM. I will thank you all in name in the AN's along with addressing any questions starting next chapter. Sorry :(**

* * *

><p><strong>SPECIAL NOTE! <strong>The song is Never Say Never by Justin Bieber and Jaden Smith. If I lose readers because of this then that's pathetic. I'm not a Justin bieber fan but I dislike the haters who hate for no reason and call him gay. You don't know him. I dislike the fangirls just as much, who scream just because he's cute and threaten Selena? He doesn't even know you! The song itself has great lyrics and a great message behind it. I though it was best for this chapter because it's Shinobu's start as a Shinobi, her spending so long not giving up is really paying off. I don't want reviews if they're only going to say stuff about Beiber.** K? K. lol ENJOY!**

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

_"You did a great job." Kurenai appeared with a small smile. "But it's been an hour and fifteen minutes. You didn't make it in the time limit." She paused looking at them and Shinobu's heart sank in her chest. Kiba looked furious while Hinata looked like she was going to cry.. this was her team.. this was supposed to be her team. Time limit aside they worked together and finished. How could they not pass?_

"W-what! But.. We made it through the entire thing! We could have died! Shinobu burned her arms! Hinata has bruises! Shino's bugs are confused as hell!" Kiba shouted furiously. Kurenai looked honestly shocked and Shinobu guessed it was because of two things. One, the entire team was hurt. Two, because Kiba had hit explosion tags and his legs were raw yet he didn't bring up himself, only his team.

"As a shinobi you will risk your life every day.." She started.

"But you tried to kill us only to have us fail?" Kiba shouted.

"Hey, don't blame me. I didn't make the course. Now let me finish!" She told him sternly. He shut up before giving a sorrowful glance to the rest of us.

"I said that you didn't make it in the time limit.. you did however make it through. The idea of this wasn't to make it through the entire thing, it was teamwork. I didn't expect you to get through in fact, all I was waiting for was for you to work together, which you did with in five minutes of starting. So you pass." She smiled and Kiba looked dumbfounded.

"So you let us get hurt and go through that entire thing... when we passed with in five minutes. OUR TEACHER IS A LUNATIC!" He screamed. Shino placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. _We passed.. we did it! _Shinobu grinned.

"Wait.. s-so if you d-didn't create this. W-who did?" Hinata asked, finally speaking up with a small smile.

"Anko-sensei. I didn't know what to do with it and she.. kind of offered. _More like blackmailed. _So I accepted." She smiled softly, muttering the one part so they couldn't hear.

"Oi, so these maggots actually passed my obstacle course? You've got yourself a good team Kurenai." A woman wearing fishnet and an overcoat grinned popping out of no where with dango in her mouth.

"So you're the witch who tried to kill us! Look what you did to Shinobu's arms!" Kiba screamed, picking up Shinobu's arm and shoving it infront of the creepy ladies face.

"I didn't put any fire jutsu in there.. did she hit an explosion?" Anko asked curiously.

"No. It was the chakra mass. I attacked it." Shinobu explained. She liked Anko, she seemed scary and evil but over all she had an air of trust and kindness around her even if it was distorted.

"Hmm.. interesting. Anyway maggots. I'll be helping with your training now and then so don't get into my bad graces or you'll find yourself hurt." She winked specifically at Kiba before disappearing again.

"That lady scares me.." Kiba mumbled, wincing when a hallow shout of "I heard that" echoed through the training field.

"Anyway.. congratulations on passing. We'll be taking our first mission as a team tomorrow morning. Meet me outside of the Hokage's office at eight in the morning. Alright?" Kurenai asked, when they all nodded she continued talking. "If Asuma's team passed as well then we'll be eating at this one restaurant as a reward for passing. Let's go." She smiled.

"Who's Asuma-sensei's team?" Shinobu asked curiously as they walked. She hadn't seen him so chances were it was either Shikamaru and Choji's team or Naruto's.

"I believe he got the Ino-Shika-Cho trio." Kurenai smiled. "But I'm not sure."

"Okay, we'll see when we get there I guess." Shinobu smiled back. Their sensei seemed really nice, she couldn't wait to get to know everyone better, to start missions. She was gaining more important people. Shino.. Hinata.. Kurenai. Maybe Anko? Who knows. But she was incredibly happy that this worked out the way it did.

After a good ten minute walk the group found themselves outside of a large restaurant waiting for Asuma's team. Inside there was booths but instead of normal tables there were grills. It was a meat buffet. She could imagine Choji loving this kind of place, as long as people didn't steal the last piece of food.

"Kurenai! Over here!" Asuma shouted gruffly, waving her over. Beside him was a shocked Ino, a tired looking Shikamaru and a depressed Choji. Apparently Asuma-sensei hadn't let them eat until the other team arrived.

"You passed too?" Shikamaru asked with mild interest.

"Ya, it was insane though. What did you guys have to do to pass?" Shinobu replied, putting some meat on the grill.

"Answer a question." Ino answered for him, smiling sheepishly at Shinobu.

"What? WHAT KIND OF QUESTION?" Kiba shouted, immediately outraged. After all, they had risked theier lives while these guys just got to answer a question.

"Ya.. we had five minutes to figure out what the most important skill a ninja could posses was. We were talking together about it and he passed us before we could answer. The answer was teamwork.. troublesome.. but atleast we weren't doing some death threatening obstacle course or something. What did you guys do?" Shikamaru asked. Team eight immediately deadpanned.

"...We went through a death threatening obstacle course.." Shinobu groaned. Shikamaru chuckled before eating some of the meat on the grill.

"W-wait. You actually put them through that?" Asume asked, dumb struck. Kurenai looked at him sheepishly before nodding and Asuma sighed. Now that Shinobu saw everyone, it felt like they knew each other forever.

"So we're all genin now.." Ino smiled, Shinobu grinned back. She was definitely better than when she wasn't around Sakura, though Shinobu did notice her blush. It was quite the contrast to her platinum blond hair. Shinobu grinned, looking around her and smiling at her new friends before standing up on the booth, ignoring the looks of the other patrons, raising her glass of water.

"Succes is a lousy teacher in my mind. It tricks smart people into thinking they can't lose. Let's learn from our mistakes and failure and take the next step of our lives with new people. With them, let us grow stronger and form unbreakable bonds. A toast! To old mistakes and failure along side new friends and allies. To the next generation of Konoha shinobi!" She grinned, raising her glass before taking a swig and laughing as she sat down. Everyone grinned and clinked glasses. Shikamaru and Kiba both grinning at their friend. Shinobu felt more confident as time went by with her friends, with Naruto. It was an amazing feeling not to be as shy, as guarded. To be worried that everyone was out to hurt you.

Her little toast had not only their entire group hyped up and grinned but they had managed to get a free round of meat out of it along with smiles from several patrons. Asuma and Kurenai looked at each other smiling as the girl spoke. She would make a good leader one day. Though they wondered where she learned it. In reality, they were words spoken to her from Naruto. Though a little less intelligently worded and a little more loud.

The group spent the rest of the time talking about the academy and how missions were going to go. Ino temporarily dropped her obvious infatuation for Shinobu and just talked. They all laughed and shared this moment. Ignoring the stress and hardships to come. Just because you were about to risk your life for the rest of your life doesn't mean you couldn't have a little fun.

* * *

><p><em><span>The next morning.<span>_

"Naru! Get up! Get up, get up and GET UP!" Shinobu poured a glass of water over his head hiding a giggle as he shrieked. "Finally! I have my first mission and you still have your training! You have like three minutes to get there. Go!" She said, shoving him everything he would need before going back to her room to change and put on her forehead.. well.. neck protector and stocking her shuriken holster. It restricted her genjutsu's shorts but it was the best place to put it.

She heard the door slam as Naruto left and yawned quickly dropping into a cobra to crack her back before making her way out the door. Of all people she expected to be late on her team. It was Kiba, and she didn't want to look bad on her first mission so she had left a little early so she could go get him. When she got there she knocked on the door, grinning as chorus's of barking pounded into her eardrums. The door swiftly opened revealing a half ready Hana. She must have been getting ready to head to the vets office.

"Shinobu? What are you doing here so early?" Hana asked, ushering her in as she fixed her hair into a neat pony tail. Shinobu's features mixed between disappointment, annoyance and joy. Hana was always so nice, Shinobu really liked her. On the other hand Kiba had obviously neglected to tell his family that she was not only on his team but they had a mission.

"Kiba didn't tell you his team did he.." She groaned.

"No.. who are they?" She asked while going through her bag to make sure she had everyone.

"Our sensei is Kurenai and we are the sole team of four in Konoha. Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba and U- Shinobu." She smiled, carefule to cover up her little slip.

"You're on his team! Great, now someone can keep him in line." She grinned.

"Oh the irony, that's what I'm doing now. We have a mission, is he awake?" Shinobu asked, leaning down to pet the three Haimaru brothers, Hana's ninken. The chunin's eyebrow visibly twitched as she shook her head. Shinobu nodded politely as Hana took off before storming her way up to Kiba's room.

"Nngh.. why is there a girl in my room..?" Kiba moaned, rubbing his eyes before sitting up and quickly bursting into laughter as he saw Shinobu. "Dude! You smell like a girl." He laughed while Shinobu rolled her eyes.

"And you smell like a moron. We're going to be late, or did you forget we have missions today?" She sighed as his eyes widened. He quickly jumped out of bed, scampering around his room picking up articles of clothing as he got ready. Shinobu averted her eyes, out of respect, and the desire to avoid a blush.

"C'mon." She smiled, picking up Akamaru and petting him as they walked towards the Hokage's office. When they got there Hinata, Shino and Kurenai were already waiting.

"You shouldn't be late for your first mission you know. It will look bad on your behalf.. and mine." She sighed. She knew it was probably Kiba but she was too tired to care. She had a last minute mission last night and didn't get much sleep. As the group made their way into the office a comfortable silence fell over them. It was broken by a sweet yet cracked voice of one of Shinobu's important people.

"Aah. Team eight. I see you've passed, congratulations. Are you ready for your first mission?" He asked, earning grins from each of them in response. Each grin was different as their personalities differed. You could tell a lot about them from their grins. Kiba's was cocky, confident yet slightly goofy and it showed kindness. Hinata's grin was more of a small smile, it was sweet, innocent and shy. It always lit her eyes though. You could only see Shino's smile from his cheeks which turns a light rosy colour. It was mysterious yet confident. Kurenai's was soft, yet strong. Her eyes gleamed with pride and her smile showed that. Her smile spoke volumes of her personality, of how she was trust worthy and where her loyalties lied. Shinobu's grin was confident yet shy, it held kindness and trust but her eyes gleamed with hurt and fear. Underlying all that, each one shared one thing. Determination laced their features. The hokage smiled at them all before continuing.

"You'll be taking on a D-rank mission. There are construction workers on the east end of town and they have run low on workers due to an illness that's spread and though the hospital is taking care of them they need more workers. All you need to do is carry the supplies from the entrance to their site. So that the workers can focus on building instead of lugging materials. Alright?" They all nodded before recieving a smile and a dismissal.

When they arrived at the gate entrance their jaws dropped. The crew was building a whole new compound and there was a mountain of supplies. This looked like it would be a several day mission by the looks of it.

"Do we seriously have to do this..? It's not even ninja related.." Kiba groaned earning a small eye roll from Kurenai, but before she could speak up Shino did.

"Shinobi dedicate their lives to their village. We not only protect it but we do everything we can to help it's people. This is ninja related because we are helping our people and that's our job." Shino stated, picking up a couple of boards tied together, throwing them over his shoulder and walking towards the construction site.

"B-besides, this'll help our endurance, r-right? W-we can t-think of it as t-training." Hinata smiled, wavering slightly as she picked some up before following Shino. Kiba grinned, to him, it sounded like a challenge. He picked up two bunches before quickly running towards the site. Akamaru picked up a couple of bags of nails before chasing after him.

"Did I get all of the hidden genius's or something?" Kurenai sighed, grinning after her team as she picked up some boards.

"Nope, just the ones who paid attention in class, excusing Kiba." Shinobu grinned, picking up a bunch of wooden boards, some plaster and a couple of bags of nails before taking off in a light jog towards the site. She wasn't going to miss the chance to get stronger. She waved as she passed her two quieter teammates and couldn't help but giggle as Kiba and Akamaru passed her in the opposite direction. Normally going full out would be great but if they kept at it they were going to pass out before long.

When she reached the site she smiled, watching in awe as the workers focused on their jobs. She recieved a couple of smiles as she set down the supplies before taking off in a light sprint to the gate. She figured if she went slower with the supplies but quicker on the way back she'd maintain a constant pace. Instead of suddenly straining her muscles then relaxing them again.

They continued doing this until around noon where they offered to pick up lunch for the workers on site. They ate lunch with them and heard stories about their travels, receiving many thanks for their help. After the hour break they got back to work, stopping occasionally for a breather until the workers ended at eight o'clock. It had been a long day and Shinobu was beyond tired. Yet, they had only finished lugging about half of the supplies. She grinned none the less, it was her first mission and it left her feeling oddly accomplished, to have helped someone else.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I hope you liked the chapter. The following is an *cough* perverted *cough* Omake of what would have happened if Shinobu replaced Sakura. :D feel free to skip. If not it mentions gayness and hints at incest. ;D. Note that it's for fun and there is a tad of Sasuke bashing. The characters may be a little OC but like I said. FUN. Although it is not what would have ACTUALLY happened, it was fun to write and it's just a little side story. ENJOY :D**

* * *

><p><strong>Omake<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Sasuke POV<strong>

Sasuke coughed in disgust, avoiding eye contact with the boisterous blond. _He kissed me? Ew, he kissed me! Stay calm.. must..keep..reputation. _He kept his expression blank before staring intently at the board. He could here Shinobu arguing with the fan girls. He rather disliked him, he made him feel weaker. He was strong. He would not be made a fool of.

"Oi! Leave him alone. He got bumped into Sasuke. Neither one of them did it on purpose so stop being fangirls towards some boy that is NEVER going to like you back!" Sasuke watched curiously as the devil himself stood up for Naruto. He didn't understand what Shinobu saw in him. He was worthless... ok.. if he was honest with himself he liked him a little.. but he was still a horrible ninja if not determined.

"B-but! He kissed Sasuke!" One of the girls stammered. Sasuke in-wardly scowled. Why the hell did they care? He had tried ignoring them. It never worked! Damn stubborn, brainless, fluff brained girls. He was soon caught up in thinking of names to call the girls in his head when he saw Shinobu stomping over him. _What's he doing? Why is he coming over here? He looks kind o-.. bad Sasuke... No.. dirty thoughts._

He looked up at him in confusion before he felt a rough pressure on his lips causing his eyes to widen. This wasn't like Naruto who had bruised his lips with his teeth. This was soft yet rough all at the same time. Where did he learn this?

"There! I kissed him too. Are you going to beat me up too? Or anyone who kisses the guy?" Shinobu yelled, once they broke apart. All of the girls froze on the spot, drooling. _Great.. they're perverts too? Two guys in one day... Ugggh. I'm NOT gay! _ _Do I look like I'm gay or something? Why do I keep attracting all of these guys?_

Thoughts like this plagued him all the way through Iruka's speech well after the girls had moved away. It wasn't until he had heard his name called that he looked up. _Shit.. who was my team? I missed it. _

"OI! IRUKA! Why do I have to be on the same team as teme?" Naruto yelled and Sasuke groaned before rolling his eyes. _Of course they stick me with the guy who kissed me. Great.. just..great.. ugh. _He ignored them for the rest of their arguement, noticing Shinobu's shocked reaction. He looked afraid, hurt, nervous and excited all at once. It was odd.. _What's wrong with him? _

"Shut up, Naruto. It's because of the grade system. Either way, we're still on the same team. Just shun him." Shinobu mumbled and Sasuke looked wide eyed at the two of them. _I'm stuck with two gay perverts! _

"Sasuke is something wrong?" Iruka asked noticing his disgusted reaction as the boy blushed.

"N-nothing!" He stuttered. Sasuke.. stutter? _I'm being a wimp.. no.. no way.. I'm turning gay.. I'm becoming a wimp.! Soon I'll be making out with guys in-between missions. No! _He was bashing thoughts like these away for the rest of class before trying to disappear but before he could he was grabbed from behind and he could feel the hot breath of his captor.

"Sasuke.. you're not turning gay.." Shinobu whispered from behind him before disappearing. The boy read him like a book. He stared wide eyed at the wall before bee-lining towards the boys bathroom. While Shinobu had said one thing, his erection obviously said another. He groaned.

If only he had known that on top of the two boys that kissed him, his sensei never stopped reading porn? Sasuke Uchiha was in for one hell of a time.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Lol. I support homosexuality don't get me wrong but I had to do this XD Hope you enjoyed it. If not oh well xD I laughed my bum off writing it XD (Not incest technically. Sasuke doesn't know XD) Hope it helps make the otherwise un-eventful chapter a little more fun :D**


	13. One Step at a Time

**A/N: A SUPER THANKS TO EVERYONE! This story got it's first C2, actually it's my first C2 of all time. So I'm super grateful and happy. Also, thanks to DutchyPuppy, Alli ate Sora-Sorry Roxas, RayneCeleste and ThePheonixOfTears for the reviews. Also to EclipseStripe my new reviewer :D Here is your awesome sauce chapter. It's kind of filler but I didn't want to go straight to the part where Naruto leaves on his big wave mission. So it shows bonding and there's a section of fast forward what's happened so far. Enjoy :D**

* * *

><p><strong>This song is One step at a time by Jordan Sparks. I spent an hour looking for the perfect song before I gave up and stuck with this. It fits enough anyway.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

Team eight was definitely functional. In the short time they'd had together they'd completed many D-rank missions. Ranging from carting construction supplies to weeding gardens. Their most recent task was to catch Tora, an evil cat with a bow on her ear. Every single genin team has been catching her since they graduated. Shinobu couldn't blame her though, she got squished by the woman who owned her everytime she was brought back. Part of Shinobu hated the cat for it though. Sure, it was just a cat. But why run away from family that loves you.. family that actually cares..

"Hmm.. another success I see. I guess your team will be cleaning the bath houses. It's best suited since you have equal boys and girls on your team." Sarutobi hummed before handing the mission sheet to Kurenai who nodded, taking it.

"Can't you count? We have three boys and two girls including our sensei. That's not even!" Kiba snorted, maybe he was a better ninja than he thought if he could figure that out while the Hokage couldn't.

"Hm? Really? Interesting.." He hummed. He had obviously not counted their sensei but Kiba apparently didn't notice the true genders of his teammates.

"Either way, if you guys want to be home by dark we should go.. the bath houses are bigger than they look." Shinobu stated nonchalantly while inwardly fighting on which bath house to clean. This was putting her in an awkward position. She continued with her mental battle for the entire trip towards the bath houses which now sported closed for cleaning signs. Her silence didn't go unnoticed by her teammates. Though they were only together a short while they could already read each other pretty well.

Of course the team had already noticed the difference between Shinobu's "I'm upset and I need someone to talk to" silence and her "I'm in mental anguish and if you try to make me feel better I'll bite your head off" silence so they didn't say anything.

"Alright. Hinata and I are going to go clean the women's side. Shinobu, Kiba and Shino, you guys clean the men's side. If you're making good progress send one of you over to our side to help out." Kurenai explained before disappearing after a curt nod from her students.

"How big is this place anyway? I've never really been in here because they don't allow dogs.." Kiba asked Shinobu. Truth be told she had been in both sides. She snuck Naruto into the girls side upon request and she snuck in with him to the guys side. It was absolutely huge.

"Let's just say this is going to take a while. By the way.. which one of you is more comfortable with hot water? We'll need to scrub the bottom of the bath and the rocks on the side and the walls and the benches and the bathrooms. Then we'll need to restock things like toilet paper and towels."

"This is going to take for ever isn't it.. and I'm ok with water I guess." Kiba groaned.

"I dislike water.. my bugs can't go in it so I have to use extra chakra to avoid them getting hurt or drowning." Shino explained.

"Oh.. ok.. Kiba and I can deal with that then. Too bad we don't have shadow clones.." Shinobu sighed and the two boys on her team looked dumbstruck for a moment. She watched for a moment as Akamaru became a Kiba clone and Shino quickly produced a bug clone.

"Oh.. we do have clones. Man, now I'm doing half the work as one of you." She groaned, taking a big breath with a cloth and scrub brush in hand before speeding about the rocks, scrubbing them all clean. She wasn't going to do less than them. They both grinned, well Shino let out more of a smirk than a grin, and quickly got to work. On the other side of the wall Kurenai and Hinata were doing their best too. Both groups worked for a good couple of hours before taking a break.

"Holy crap.. this place is huge.." Kiba groaned. They got all of the rocks done but they still needed to restock, do the bathrooms and do the bottom of the bath. As if reading Shinobu's mind Shino quickly spoke up.

"I'll clean the bathrooms if one of you does the bottom of the bath and the other restocks everything and washes the dirty towels." he suggested in monotone.

"I can clean the bottom of the bath!" Shinobu quickly volunteered. She'd rather do that then touch towels which rubbed against things she'd rather not think about.

"Fine.. I'll restock.. it'll be like strength training, right?" He grinned half heartedly. You'd need a hell of a lot of towels to get any strength benifits. Shinobu sighed before making her way to the side of the pool. _To strip or not to strip.. that.. is the question. _She inwardly laughed. She didn't want to looked like a drowned pooch in her clothes but she wasn't up for getting naked either. She took off her top, figuring her shorts would have to fair.

Shinobu worked on the bottom of the bath, grimacing as she spotted different dirt and grime stuck to the bottom. Her hair was matted to her forehead, she had fallen quite a few times because of the slippery bottom, though it would have been anyway because of sweat. She could deal though. She came across everything from gum to half a sandwich and put up with it. It wasn't until she almost stepped on a disgusting looking white-ish liquid on the island of rocks in the middle that she thought of asking for help.

"That.. is freaking.. disgusting.." she scowled, trying not to gag as she contemplated how she was supposed to clean it up.

"Oi, Shinobu! Hurry up. Shino and I are done we're just waiting on you!" Kiba shouted.

"Alright.. uhm.. I only have a little left, why don't you guys go help out the girls?" She suggested. This would be doubly embarrassing if she told them and they found out she was a girl later.. not gonna happen.

"You sure?" Shino asked.

"Yup. Meet you there when I'm done." She said, getting some paper towel and grimacing as she picked up the goop. Her face contorting in disgust. _Who does that? In a public place no less! _She thought as she waded through the water to throw it out before going to scrub the spot clean. She only had one section left to scrub and then she was done and she'd hopefully never have to do that again.

"Shino, Kiba, Hinata, Kurenai-sensei? You in here?" Shinobu called out, entering the girls side of the bath house. Inside however, were not her teammates. But a bunch of girls getting ready to take baths. Apparently it had re-opened. _Uh... Back away slowly.. back away.._She was creeping away with wide eyes when she heard her name called. _Uh oh..._

"Shinobu-kun!" Before she knew it she was on her back with a boisterous blond hugging her. _That wasn't supposed to happen like that? Isn't she supposed to squeal and hit me or something? That's what happens to Naruto? _She looked up in confused.

"What are you doing here? This is the girls side!" She finally asked, letting her sit up.

"U-uh... I was here on a mission.. I-uh.. my team was cleaning the bath houses.. I thought they were still over here. I came over to find them after I finished the guy's side.." She mumbled. This was embarrassing. Even though she was in fact a she, she felt as though she had just committed a sin or something.

"Oh. I see. So-" She started but was interupted.

"Oh my god! Who's he Ino-chan?"

"He's so cute!"

"Why is he on the girls side?" Sever girls were now crowded around her and she was confused as hell. He looked dumbstruck and honestly slightly afraid sitting there.

"Back off girls!" Ino finally shouted. "So.. you taking a bath or leaving?" Ino winked. Shinobu let her jaw drop.

"W-what?" She screeched in what the girls would later describe as a manly fashion.

"Shinobu? Are you in here?" A voice called out and she sighed in relief. Kurenai peeked her head in. Her facial expression quickly changed to awestruck as she saw what was happening though.

"K-kurenai-sensei!" Ino stuttered, turning bright red.

"I-I'm g-gonna go now." Shinobu stuttered, quickly getting up and stumbling over to Kurenai and out of the bath house to greet her now confused teammates.

"Why were you in the girls bath house?" Kiba asked with a sly grin.

"YOU MORON! YOU SAID I'D MEET YOU IN THERE WHEN I WAS DONE! WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP ME?" She blew up on the spot. Still bright red.

"W-woah! Sorry!" Kiba put his hands up infront of him defensively.

"It's fine.." She sighed. "Just wish you could have warned me.. Ino was in there.. I thought I died and went to meet Satan or something." Shinobu groaned trying to shake her head of the images.

"Haha, that sucks!" Kiba laughed but quickly shut up upon a well earned glare.

"Shut it dog-boy." She muttered.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A DOG BOY?" He shouted, silence broken. Shinobu sighed.

"You. Do you see anyone else around who owns a dog?" She grinned. Among their time together as a team, Shinobu quickly learned that it was ok to have this kind of banter with Kiba. He wouldn't stop talking to her for it and she wouldn't lose a friend. It was kind of fun if she thought about it.

"That's it!" He growled before chasing her as she ran, throwing a few punches which she easily dodged. She switched to running backwards with a fun smirk on her face as he growled. But he couldn't keep his scowl for long before they were both laughing as the chase around the bath house yard continued. Shinobu throwing in the odd flip here and there.

"SUGOI!" A young girl cried out watching them, causing them both to stop and Kiba almost ran into a tree. The girl had a pair of green goggles on her forehead and was flanking a boy Shinobu immediately recognized as Konohamaru.

"Hey, Konohamaru. What are you up to?" Shinobu asked.

"W-who are you?" He asked in slight confusion. To him she looked like his rival's arch nemisis.

"Shinobu? You know? The one who is always eating ramen with Naruto?" She realized that he was used to seeing her as a girl.

"Shinobu nee-chan?" He asked, taking a step back in confusion, ignoring the cut throat movement of her hand indicating not to call her that.

"Nee-chan? What?" Kiba looked between the two in confusion.

"H-he said Nii-chan. You just mis-heard him." The girl quickly covered. Shinobu figured she and the boy with the cold had heard about her from Naruto or Konohamaru.

"Oh.. ok." Kiba muttered.

"What are you doing out here Shinobu nii-chan?" Konohamaru asked, quickly changing her name.

"I just finished up a mission with my team." She grinned.

"Sugoi! Shinobu nii-chan! Could you teach me that flip you were doing?" The girl asked.

"I'll have to ask my sensei if I'm free first, and I never did catch your name." Shinobu smiled.

"It's Moegi! Alright." She smiled, blushing slightly. Shinobu quickly ran over to Kurenai who just nodded, she was apparently listening in.

"Alright, c'mon Moegi. We can go to the training field." Shinobu lead the way as Moegi waved goodbye to Konohamaru and the other boy.

"So.. how do we start this?" Moegi asked.

"Well... to start off, can you do a cartwheel?" Shinobu asked, grinning when Moegi nodded.

"I want you to try doin a cartwheel but face forward when you start." She explained. "Like this." Shinobu put her hands in front of her as if she was about to do a flip but quickly turned side ways into a cartwheel.

"Okay!" Moegi shouted as she tried. She stumbled slightly the first time but got in when she tried again.

"Good! Now, try pushing off with your hands a little bit so you get a bit of air time." She said. Shinobu stood and watched as Moegi tried again and again, not really making much progress.

"Ok.. wait a minute. I want you to try something. I want you to go into a hand stand and push yourself back into a standing position. I'll do it with you." She suggested so Moegi would get the feeling of pushing off. She jumped into a hand stand watching the ground get closer as she bent her elbows before pushing up and feeling the wind run through her hair as she sprung backwards to a standing position. They did it together a good twenty times and Moegi was quickly progressing. When she got it Shinobu got her to try the cartwheel again and she did it perfectly.

"I did it!" She shouted.

"Great job! Now, do you think you could stay straight? Instead of turning in the cartwheel. Keep facing forward and spring to your feet. But instead of pushing yourself backwards you're going to spring fowards." She explained, showing her quickly.

"I'm scared... what if I fall?" Moegi asked staring at the ground. It was grassy but it would still hurt to fall.

"Don't worry.. everyone gets scared. But we have to face fears to get stronger. I'll still spot you till you get used to it." She smiled kneeling and holding Moegi's stomache as she tried. Supporting her to stop her from falling as she messed up. After about an hour of trying she had a simple hand spring. Shinobu had stopped holding her about half way through and the time was definitely worth it. Moegi looked really proud of herself.

"What's next, nii-chan?" She asked, panting slightly.

"That's good for today. I don't want you to get hurt and it's better if you rest some." Shinobu smiled.

"Aww.. alright.. thank you nii-chan." She smiled giving her a small hug. "I hope one day I can be a strong ninja. I want to show everyone that a girl can be as strong as you and the other guys." Moegi said, grinning, her eyes gleamed with determination.

"I'll definitely support you.. but I'm not a good example in the sentence. I'm a girl." Shinobu smiled, dropping her genjutsu. "That's why Konohamaru was confused earlier." She explained. Apparently Moegi hadn't realized or hadn't heard about her.

"Really? Then I want to be like you!" She grinned. Shinobu couldn't help but smile. _Another important person._

"You'll be strong one day. I'd bet my life on it." Shinobu grinned.

"Thanks nee-chan!" She gave her another hug. "Hopefully we can train again sometime?" Moegi asked hopefully.

"You can bet on it. See ya." _She'll definitely be strong._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So there we have it XD I hope you enjoyed it :D School starts in about two weeks for me and I'm moving among there. I've been sick recently and I'm doing extra training to get ready for the next dance / acrobatic season. I'm busy, this'll slow down updates but I'll do my best! :D**


	14. On the Road Again

**A/N: Ok.. I will never and I repeat never do a song based fan-fiction again. This is insanity. I spent an hour last chapter finding a song and I've had this one finished for several hours now and it's like. WHAT SONG SHALL I USE? So I have a challenge for you all now! Know a good song? That has good emotional lyrics or inspiring lyrics? Or how about a song that is romantic and shows love. Or a song that makes you laugh or that could have some really funny scenarios to it. Put them at the end of your review. Song title and the artist. I may use it and who knows, the song may influence the story. I'd REALLY appreciate it if you sent in some songs. (no repeats of ones I've used of course lol) anyway, enjoy.**

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you to <strong>Alli ate Sora-Sorry Roxas and ThePheonixOfTears for reviewing :D<strong>**

* * *

><p><strong>*Note* Akio speaks english fluently and is found speaking it in this chapter. Because the chapter itself is in english I will represent the english with french. I'd use japanese but the english is actually japanese and they use phrases like "sugoi" and "kawaii" already so it would be confusing. So ya.. any french is english and any english is japanese. To clarify XD If you speak french, mine is a little rusty so I hope you'll forgive whatever mistakes I have made. It's not my first language. The french is bold.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

"Good luck Naru. Be careful, alright?" Shinobu gave him a quick hug. He had found out last minute that he was getting an out of village mission as an escort. So she wouldn't be seeing him for a while.

"I'll be fine, dattebayo!" He grinned, waving before taking off towards the village gate. She sighed, wishing him well. She was honestly afraid of letting him go since he was her only family besides her team.. she didn't want to lose him. She didn't know what she would do or how she would cope if she did.

"Shinobu-chan!" Kiba yelled from across the street, causing Shinobu to look up. The entire team had agreed to meet in the shopping district and walk up to the office together for their next mission.

"Hi, Kiba, Shino! We're just waiting for the girls now?" Shinobu clarified, jogging over to them.

"Yes." Shino nodded. He was so quiet sometimes, and Shinobu had never seen him laugh.. she felt bad. He always seemed happy enough though and if she asked he would just say it was his personality. He wasn't used to socializing. Shinobu imagined it was because people outcast him for having bugs in his body. The same way Naruto was outcast for having the kyuubi in his. When he told her she didn't even blink and eye. She remembered her exact words. "So what? You're still my friend. You're not the Kyuubi, you're the Naruto. The villagers thinking you're a danger is stupid. There's a big difference between the scroll and the weapon it carries." He had cried and they had hugged.. it was a bonding moment she wouldn't forget for the rest of her life.

"W-we're here! Sorry we're l-late!" Hinata stammered, catching her breath as Kurenai poofed beside her.

"It's alright, are we ready to go?" Shino asked.

"H-hai!" She answered with a smile. Shinobu had been working on her confidence through their training. Cheering her on and making sure she knew that she was a valued member of their team.

"So one of the bitches is having a litter right now. Hana's taking care of them." Kiba grinned sheepishly as he was cuffed upside the head for his language.

"That's awesome!" Shinobu grinned.

"Yup! I was actually wondering if any of you wanted one of the pups. They'll have a good home with us either way but mum told me it was fine to ask." Kiba grinned.

"S-sorry Kiba. My f-father would never let me." Hinata said sorrowfully. The whole team noticed how much she loved Akamaru.

"I'm more of a cat person, thank you though Kiba." Kurenai smiled.

"One of the bug species I host are fleas." Shino stated and Kiba and Akamaru shuddered, obviously they'd had some run ins with the bug.

"Hmm.. do I have to answer now? I'd like to think about it.. also.. are they ninken.. or trainable to be ninken or just house pets?" Shinobu asked earnestly. She was iffy about using the term house pets but Kiba knew what she meant.

"Their parents are both ninken so they should be easily trainable. Not like the talking summons or anything but a ninken. Don't worry about it. You have six months to decide." He grinned earning a thankful smile in return. It might be nice to have a dog companion. In reality they had six members to their team.. imagine a seven member genin team? Kurenai, Kiba, Akamaru, Shino, Hinata, Shinobu and another ninken? They'd be unstoppable.

"Did I mention Naruto got another mission?" Shinobu asked as the thought of how Naruto would react to a dog crossed her mind.

"We get missions every day, what's the point?" Kiba asked.

"They got a C-ranked escort mission the land of waves." Shinobu explained and Kiba's jaw dropped. Even Kurenai looked a little shocked.

"WHAT? That's so not fair! We're stronger than them! We should have gotten a C-ranked mission." Kiba whined as they entered the building, his voice echoing through the halls. Kurenai winced, knowing the Hokage probably heard and that she'd be in for it later. She knocked on the door as her team blabbed on.

"Come in." Sarutobi's voice echoed. "Aah, Team eight. I see you've been doing exceptionally well with your past missions. We have a special mission for you today." He smiled.

"Really? Yes! We are the strongest team!" Kiba whooped. Shinobu rolled her eyes but was sporting her own grin.

"Yes, there is a small civilian village a short ways away from the hidden village of sand. You will be escorting the mayor's son back to his village." He explained.

"An escort? When will he arrive?" Shino asked.

"**Oui, Aaron. Non, je veux rentrer chez moi dès que possible! Bien sûr, nous allons recevoir le meilleur! Mon père a payé pour cela!**"A male voice growled from the other side of the door. _English? I can't understand him at all. _Everyone looked slightly shocked, including the Hokage. Not very many people here spoke english so they probably hadn't been expecting it. Shinobu sure hadn't.

"**Bonjour, je m'appelle Akio. Je suis le fils du Maire. Seriez-vous mes escortes?**" He asked, or at least, Shinobu thought he asked. She was only guessing by the way his voice changed in pitch at the end of his speech. Everyone looked dumbfounded.

"**Est-ce que vous parlez anglais?**" He asked, a look of confusion crossing his features. Shinobu recognized the odd word but it was too hard to make out nevermind reply.

"**Oui. J-je parle un peu d'anglais. J'ai étudié anglais dans m-mon clan. Nous sommes t-tes escortes.**"Hinata spoke in a clear voice, well, clear for her. As expected of the Hyuuga clan, Shinobu was grateful she had learned it.

"**Et ton amies? Est-ce qu'ils parlent anglais?**" He asked her.

"**Non, seulement moi. Est-ce que vous parlez japonais?**" She replied.

"**Un peu..**" He muttered.

"What's going on?" Kurenai asked.

"His n-name is A-akio, he's the s-son of the mayor and he is asking if w-we're his escorts. His first language is english I th-think and he o-only knows a little Japanese." Hinata explained.

"Hinata-chan.. how do I say my name? How do I say my name is Shinobu and I will do my best to protect you?" Shinobu asked, her eyes not leaving Akio.

"S-start with **Je m'appelle**, then s-say your name. Then say **'Je ferai de m-mon mieux pour vous protéger' **o-ok?" Hinata explained, earning a slight look of confusion from Akio.

"**Salut, Akio-san. Je m'appelle Shinobu et je ferai de mon mieux pour vous protéger.**"Shinobu said, giving a little bow. Her speech was slow as she tried to pronounce the words properly.

"Thank you, Shinobu. Your accent is.. what's the word.. cute?" He grinned. Shinobu smiled in return before ushering her other teammates to introduce themselves.

"**Salut, je m'appelle Kiba! Il s'appelle Akamaru.** Did I say that right?" Kiba asked looking at Hinata. Shinobu was surprised he knew that much.

"**Oui.**" Akio grinned.

"**Je m'appelle Shino.**"Shino stated quietly.

"Nice to meet you all. Um.. Allons-nous laisser?" He asked, switching languages.

"H-he asked if w-we'll be leaving now." Hinata translated.

"**Oui, Akio-san.**" Kurenai smiled. "**Je m'appelle Kurenai.. hmm. Je suis.. le.. **leader?..sensei...** le... **Hinata help.." Kurenai sighed, not knowing how to finish her sentence.

"**E-elle s'appelle K-kurenai et elle est la p-professeur.**" Hinata explained.

"Aah.. Nice to meet you.. sensei? Is it?" He looked a little confused.

"**Oui.**"Kurenai smiled before looking at Shinobu in confusion as she broke out into quiet laughter.

"What's wrong?" Kurenai asked in concern.

"It's just.. we're all thinking in different languages and trying so hard. It's kind of funny." Shinobu grinned.

"**Allons-nous laisser?**"Akio asked and the group nodded. They all nodded to the Hokage before exiting. The group making their way towards the village gate. When they got there, there was a woman waiting with one of those shoulder carriages. The previous woman flanking Akio's right hand side.

"**J'oublie! Elle s'appelle Aaron! Ma garde personnelle.**" Akio spoke suddenly.

"Don't worry.. I speak Japanese." Aaron grinned. "He said that my name is Aaron. I'm his guard. We've been friends since we were little and I was assigned from the sand village. Normally we would go there for missions, but they've been exceptionally busy recently." She explained.

"I see.. Aaron.. do you think you could teach me some english while on this mission? I'd like to be able to speak to him properly." Shinobu asked.

"Sure, but you might want to be careful. He might think you're putting forward the effort because you like him." She giggled. The group looked confused but didn't comment.

"**Allons-y!**" Akio ordered, sitting in the carriage, the two women immediately picked it up.

"If you get tired along the way we can carry it. We have enough people to carry it and protect you." Kurenai stated.

"Thank you but we're used to it." The other girl stated. "My name is Yuki.. by the way. I'm Akio's Japanese teacher and I tend to be the second person carrying this thing." She explained.

"Aah. Cool. So.. this should take about three days..? Right?" Kiba asked. Kurenai nodded. It would vary depending on breaks but it was around there. So the group left, walking away from the village for the first time. It felt weird.. like a bird leaving the nest for the first time. Shinobu was growing up.

"Here we go.. on the road.. dear lord walking is boring." Kiba groaned after a good half an our of walking.

"It's not that bad." Akio stated.

"You're not walking! Besides, we're used to going at least twice as fast as this!" Kiba scowled.

"What? **Je ne sais pas...**" Akio replied. Yuki quickly translated it and he scowled.

"You're ninja! You're supposed to be able to do this." He said before turning away and watching Hinata and Shinobu walk.

"Oi! Stop staring at Hinata-chan! She's too good for you!" Kiba growled. Kurenai was about to say something but Aaron stopped her.

"Don't worry.. this stuff keeps Akio entertained. It would be better not to interupt." She explained.

"Alright.." Kurenai sighed reluntantly letting Kiba's rudeness drop for the time being.

"I'm not looking at her. But if I was I would be good enough for her." Akio smirked.

"Liar.." Kiba muttered.

"I'm not lying. I'm looking at Shinobu." Akio stated truthfully.

"You like guys?" Kiba screeched in a not so manly fashion.

"Got a problem with that?" Akio rolled his eyes. He was used to people looking at him in disgust. It didn't bother him.

"No.. it's just odd." Kiba whispered.

"Wait.. so you're not disgusted?" Akio whipped his head around in shock.

"No? Love is love.. it's not disgusting. We have a few pups who are gay." He told him.

"Pups? You mean dogs?" Akio asked.

"Ya. Our clan fights with dogs, like Akamaru here. We have tons of dogs back home." Kiba explained.

"That's cool!" Akio grinned. Kiba twitched a little under his gaze. He was used to trying to impress girls and ignoring guys. Not wondering what guys thought. Not that he was gay.

"Don't worry. You're not my type, not that I would mind seeing you shirtless." Akio winked leaving a dumbfounded blushing Kiba before he turned to watch Shinobu again.

This went on in silence for another hour or so before Akio was literally twitching in boredum.

"Put me down.. I want Shinobu to carry me." Akio smirked and Kiba's jaw dropped. He didn't know what to say or if he should tell his teammate.

"What?" Shinobu asked looking at the boy in confusion.

"I want you to carry me." He repeated.

"Erm..." Shinobu looked up at Kurenai with a lost look in her eyes. Kurenai just shrugged and nodded. "Alright.." She muttered, walking over before kneeling before Akio so he could climb on her back. _At least this is good weight training.. right?_

"Thanks." Akio grinned and Shinobu shuddered at the feeling of his breath on her neck. It was awkward but it was a mission so she'd put up with it. They talked quietly, Akio teaching Shinobu some basic english as he slowly drifted off. Before long they were walking in silence again. Akio gently snoring on Shinobu's shoulder as she willed her arms to stop aching.

"He's gay.. you know that right?" Kiba whispered after confirming he was asleep.

"Eh?... erm... I'm literally speechless." She mumbled, looking at the boy on her back. _Yet another person crushing on me because they think I'm the opposite gender.._ She sighed. "Oh well.. a mission is a mission and it's our job to get him home safely and comfortably. If this is what he wants I'm not gonna say no. It's not like he'll be asking anyone out. We're only doing this for three days." She whispered.

"Ya.. ok. I just wanted to tell you, figured you ought to know." He mumbled before drifting back to walking with Shino. Shinobu sighed, hoping it would be time to camp soon. Normally she could go much longer but she wasn't accustomed to carrying so much weight. Besides, Yuki and Aaron were civilian body guards. They'd need to rest soon as well.

"Mmmngh.. **Ai-je m'endors?**" Akio asked, lifting one of the arms he had draped around Shinobu's neck to rub his eyes.

"**Endors... erm... Vous dormiez?**" She asked, not sure if she was saying it right.

"**Oui... merci.**" He smiled, stiffling a yawn. "**C'est tres chaud..**"He complained. She thought she understood him.. but wasn't quite sure.

"It's very hot out.. we're getting closer to the desert." She explained.

"Maybe we should take a break? Camp for the night?" Kurenai suggested. The two girls were getting tired and Akio still looked as if he were about to pass out.

"**Oui.. **please." Akio grinned. They set up camp and Yuki made food they had brought with them. The group ate in silence.

"Alright.. I'll take first shift. Then I'll wake up Hinata and Shino. You two can take second shift. Then you two can wake up Kiba and Shinobu for third shift. Alright?" They all nodded as Kurenai checked the surrounding area before taking her place near the campfire.

"I want Shinobu in my tent." Akio requested and Shinobu sighed before nodding, ignoring the look she got from Kiba. It wasn't that bad and he might just be nervous about being out here.

She got cosy on her sleeping bag and started drifting off, not before she felt an arm ghost over her own and hug her waist. She sighed trying to ignore it. _This is going to be a long night..._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Okey dokey, hope you enjoyed. And if you love me or my stories at all, please leave songs and answer the poll on my profile. Thanks everyone! P.S Reviews are nice too, they help me a great deal but I won't threaten or beg for them. Akio means aki - bright, o - hero for future reference.**

* * *

><p><strong>The song is On the road again by Donkey from shrek! :D<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Japanese dictionary of words some people don't understand ;D<strong>

**Dattebayo: **Dattebayo has NO actual meaning and is just tagged to the end of naruto's sentences, its just like his dialect. Naruto's style is '(verb stem)tte bayo!' For instance, wakattebayo is "I get it already" or nan dattebayo is "What the heck is that?" In the english anime it was translated to his catch phrase "Believe it!". Which fit though the real japanese believe it is "Sore o shinjiru".

**Nii-chan / Nii-san: **Brother

**Nee-chan / Nee-san: **Sister

**Sugoi: **awesome, great, wonderful, terrific, or impressive. Occasionally used as pretty or beautiful to a stunning extent.

**Kawaii: **Cute or adorable. Occasionally used as pretty.

**Baka: **Fool, moron, idiot

**Dobe: **Dead last

**Teme: **Bastard

**I know I use these, I try to avoid more complicated phrases like "Ikuzo" meaning "Let's go" or introductory sentences like "Watashi no namae wa Sukaretto Miyuki desu" meaning "My name is Sukaretto Miyuki". Hopefully this has been useful! :D**


	15. The Creep

**A/N: Yet another 3 and a half hours of looking for songs and thinking about songs. (Yes, I counted.) Grrr. I can't wait to get ahead where I have some song names already. Hope you enjoy! Note: French represents english while english represents japanese. French will be bolded.**

* * *

><p><strong>This song is the creep by thelonelyisland. It's awesome, yet creepy and is used for humour's sake :D<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

"Shinobu... Shinobu wake up!" Kiba whispered, shaking her shoulder. He was trying not to wake Akio at the same time who had apparently taken to cuddling with Shinobu some time in the middle of the night as they slept.

"Huh... eep.. I'm getting up." Shinobu whispered, now fully awake and trying to pry off Akio. "Erm... a little help?" She asked looking at Kiba who quickly got her untangled and out of the tent.

"That was awkward..." He mumbled, taking a place by the dwindling fire.

"You're telling me?" Shinobu scoffed. Kiba looked concerned but didn't say anything. They had split up the shifts so each group had a three hour shift. So now they sat in a deafening silence, thoughts creeping along their skin.

"So... " Kiba trailed off, trying to think of something to talk about.

"So... when is that litter supposed to be born?" Shinobu asked.

"They should have been born already.. you're not supposed to take them away from their mother until they're at least six months old though. You can visit them when we get back if you'd like.

"Alright.. I think I do want one.. It would be nice to have a constant companion." Shinobu smiled

"Alright. You can pick one of them when we get back home." He grinned.

"**Aide-moi!**" A scream came from the tent Shinobu had been in previously, causing the two to jump up and get over there.

"Shit! You punks aren't getting in my way.. this kid here is going to make me money!" A rather obese man said, holding a knife.

"**Shinobu-kun! Aide-moi! Ne laissez pas me prendre!**" Akio yelled, attempting to bite the man.

"Put him down or we'll be forced to hurt you." Shinobu growled, sliding into a offensive stance.

"Ya right! Punks like you? You're probably_ just_ ninjas. You won't take me down." The man scoffed.

"Don't say we didn't warn you. **Ne vous inquiétez pas.**" She spoke, she had learned a couple of phrases from Yuki and Aaron a long the trip. Simple ones so she could comfort or assure Akio in case of things like this. The man scoffed before Shinobu took off, darting and flipping towards them before jumping over head and landing behind them, swiping the knife out of his hand as she went.

"Will you let him go now?" She ordered more than suggested, holding the knife to his neck. Both Akio and the man stood wide eyed.

"Y-yes! I'm sorry!" He whimpered letting go of Akio. The moment Akio was free Shinobu grabbed him and brought him out of reach of the man. Before she could even talk to Kiba he was using fang over fang and drilling the man through a tree. He was unconscious to say the least.

"**Etes-vous d'accord?**" Shinobu asked now that Akio was calmer.

"Y-yes.. I'm fine. Thank you.." He mumbled, still clinging to her arm.

"**C'est bien." **She smiled as Kiba tied the guy to an undamaged tree. Kurenai could figure out what to do with him in the morning. She guided him back to his tent.

"You should get some sleep. **Dormir**.. er.. was that the right word? Don't worry.. **Ne vous inquiétez pas. **We'll protect you." She smiled.

"**Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?**" He asked, looking a tad fearful. _Too much english.. I don't understand.. _

"**Je ne sais pas.**" She stated, hope that he could say it in english.

"Would you sleep with me?... I don't want to be alone.." He muttered looking away, a light blush covering his cheeks.

"I would but I need to guard. I'll be right here if you need me, but you need rest. It's still a long trip." She explained. He nodded sullenly before going back to bed and she went back to sitting with Kiba, eyeing the man from earlier. She still felt kind of bad but she honestly did need to guard.

Before they knew it the duo was watching a beautiful sunrise, consisting of vibrant oranges and pinks. Along with the sun it was getting warmer rather quickly. Shinobu wasn't a particular fan of the warm weather. Too hot for her, luckily they all had sunscreen. Soon the rustling of clothing and tents filled the camp sight as they doused the now useless fire. Everyone getting up and getting ready.

"W-who is he?" Hinata asked in shock as she noticed the man.

"He tried to get Akio last night.. we didn't know what to do with him.

"Untie him, he'll leave whenever he wakes up." Kurenai sighed. At least they hadn't experienced their first kill yet.

"Hai." Shino said before untieing the man and watching him slump to the ground, they were ready so they immediately left.

"Thank you both for earlier." Akio grinned at the two who were walking on the left side of his carriage.

"It's our job, it's no big deal." Kiba grinned, Shinobu rolled her eyes knowing he was mentally celebrating. His modesty got eye rolls and chuckles from his entire team.

"Aaron.. How do I say one moment in english?" Shinobu asked, walking a little faster so they were side by side.

"**Un moment. **If you want to say wait a moment it's **attendez un moment.**" She explained

"**Attendez un moment.. **Alright.. So right now I know **attendez un moment, Je m'appelle Shinobu, ne vous inquiétez pas, je ne sais pas, etes-vous d'accord, c'est bien et oui. **I think I'm starting to get the hang of this.. can't really converse much though." Shinobu sighed.

"Haha, don't worry. You're making good progress. But can you translate all of that?" Aaron quizzed.

"Yup. **Attendex un moment **means wait a moment, **Je m'appelle Shinobu **means my name is Shinobu. **Ne vous inquiétez pas **means don't worry, **je ne sais pas **means I don't know.. I think I used it as I don't understand earlier. **Etes-vous d'accord **means are you ok and **c'est bien **means that's good or it is good. What is I don't understand?" Shinobu asked.

"It's **je ne comprends pas**." Yuki stated.

"Thanks.. **Je ne comprends pas.. **Got it!" Shinobu grinned, getting the hang of it.

"Ugh.. it's too hot out here! How can you guys stand living in weather like this?" Kiba complained taking off his sweater and tieing it around his waist, revealing a tight fitting t-shirt. Now that Shinobu thought about it, she had never seen what was under the sweater before. the same went for Hinata and Shino.

"Because we're used to it. It gets warmer." Yuki grinned.

"Warmer? That shouldn't be freaking possible!" Kiba growled, shaking the sweat out of his hair. He literally sparkled for a minute leaving everyone gaping. _Kiba? Sparkle? Never thought I'd see the day.. _

"It's no big deal. Just don't forget sunscreen when you take your shirt off." Akio grinned, eyeing Kiba who immediately froze. Akio noticed and snorted with laughter.

"That self conscious? Don't worry, I'm sure your muscles are more than satisfactory." He winked before chuckling and relaxing his head on his hands.

"N-not what I was thinking!" Kiba turned red again. "Who does this guy think he is?" He whispered harshly to Shino, who just shrugged. Shinobu sighed, bringing her fingers through her hair. It was too hot out and she was sweating; and she was wearing the least amount of clothing on her team, being the only one without a sweater or long pants.

"Damn heat.. screw this." She growled, yanking her tank-top off, thankful she was temporarily a guy. "Kiba, where's the sunscreen?" She snapped.

"**C'est sexy quand il est faché.**" Akio murmered and Shinobu ignored him grabbing the sunscreen from Kiba's back pack. Hinata on the other hand understood him and turned bright red, squeaking.

"Hinata? Hinata-chan? What's wrong?" Kiba looked up at the now shaky Hinata with concern.

"N-nothing." She squeaked. Akio's escorts just giggled, used to such language and terms.

"Do you need help with that?" Akio asked, looking at Shinobu attempting and failing to get sunscreen on her back.

"Erm.. I'm fine thanks. It's my job to help you.. not the other way around." Shinobu mumbled awkwardly shifting away from him a tad.

"Fine.. it's an order. I'm getting a headache from watching you attempt to do it yourself." Akio smirked. Shinobu looked dumbfounded and confused, looking towards her teammates and sensei for help. They all looked just as confused as she did. So in the end she found her self with her back turned to accio getting a sunscreen massage. Her face was turning bright red and Kiba looked onward, trying to ignore the awkward situation. Hinata was practically fainting and Yuki and Aaron were stiffling giggles. Shinobu was attempting not to squeak like a school girl and was as frozen as an ice statue.

When he finished Shinobu stumbled away awkwardly and Akio smirked, playing with the remaining sunscreen on his hands. Kiba growled but continued walking along side the carriage. Hinata and Shino kept a small distance and Kurenai watched everything unfold. Part of her felt bad for the boy, considering Shinobu wasn't a male even though she currently had the genitals of one.

"Jealous much?" Akio asked raising an eyebrow.

"Fuck you" Kiba cursed under his breath.

"**Puis bais moi.. J'aime assez l'idée..**" Akio whispered back, leaning in a little too close for comfort.

"What? I don't speak english.." Kiba questioned. It didn't sound good to him though.

"I said.." He started. "Then fuck me.. I rather like the idea." He smirked at Kiba's taken aback expression and leaned back in the carriage letting Kiba splutter to himself. He of course hadn't meant it. Not that he would mind kissing the red cheeked boy, but his reaction made the statement worth saying, even if he'd hear about it later from Aaron.

"Bastard..Who do you think you are!" Kiba shouted, finally getting his mind in order.

"The son of someone important. But don't worry, I don't do second class. If I want a ride I'll take Shinobu." He smirked and everyone's jaw's dropped. _What? Did he just say what I think he said..?_

"WHY I OUGHTA!" Kiba started but stopped at the touch on his shoulder.

"Stop... it's only two more days. Just deal with it." Shinobu stated and he would have thought it hadn't effected her but the dark red gracing her cheeks betrayed her.

"Fine.." He muttered, sighing in defeat. Shinobu was grateful she didn't half to defend Akio from Kiba but she wasn't so sure she could deal with this without getting agry herself. She was even debating revealing her gender to her team just to get him off her back.. quite literally. Within five minutes of the arguement Akio had wanted another piggy back ride.

"Should we take a break?" Kurenai suggested, quickly noticing the strain Akio was having on Shinobu after a second day of carrying. Yuki and Aaron were exhausted as well.

"**Oui..**" Akio agreed. Shinobu gave a sigh of relief when he was off, it was nice for her muscles as well as the blood in her face. He had taken to drawing circles on her chest in boredom and it was driving her crazy. She was barely restraining from hitting him.

"Damn back.." Shinobu groaned, twisting side ways to crack it. "How long are we resting for?" She asked Kurenai.

"You'll have enough time for a decent stretch if that's what you're asking." She smiled. It was interesting to watch Shinobu stretch because every week she got more and more flexible.

"Stretch? What are you talking about?" Akio asked, looking between the team in confusion.

"Sh-shinobu uses taijutsu w-when he fights. His t-taijutsu is a mixture between basic s-stances and a-acrobatics. S-so he has to s-stretch to k-keep up his flexibility." Hinata explained with a small smile. She had been stretching too. The flexibility helped her style a bit and would surely be helpful when she found her own style.

"Oh...? Can I see?" Akio asked with a raised eyebrow.

"S-sure." Hinata stammered before joining Shinobu in low lunges. Akio watched in awed interest as the two stretched. They had this odd serenity about them, taking the stretches and turning them into what looked like a beautiful display of dance and flexibility. The two stayed perfectly in synch. It was obvious that they practiced together a lot.

It definitely looked odd all at the same time considering Shinobu looked like a boy, but to Akio, he held such a proud posture yet showed the grace of a ballerina and a flexibility he had never seen in a "boy" before.

"Do you do this often or something?" Akio asked.

"Every day." Shinobu responded, swiveling to fall back into a bridge.

"Wow.." Akio whispered under his breath.

"Hinata.. I'm gonna keep stretching my back if that's ok." Shinobu said, moving onto her elbows in her bridge while Hinata kept going with their usual routine after a nod. Shinobu was determined to reach her ankles and she had been working on it everyday. Right now her fingertips barely reached the back of her heels.

"HOLY SHIT! You've improve Shinobu.. that's really creepy." Kiba shouted, immediately pouting as he got cuffed upside the head for his language.

"Thanks Kiba, I think your training is creepy too." Shinobu laughed. "Are we leaving now?" She asked stretching her arms and walking towards him in her bridge.

"Ya, and you knew what I meant." He grinned, giving her a hand up.

"Ya, thanks dude." She grinned. "Speaking of which, I need to talk to you, Hinata, Shino and Kurenai-sensei when we camp later. Alright?" Shinobu said, looking serious.

"Uh.. ya.. sure." He replied.

"I'll take my carriage if you walk in your bridge thing." Akio grinned.

"That strains my back if I do it for too long. It compresses my lungs and it hurts my hands." She stated, not really wanting to do either.

"Here.. I made these a couple of years ago.. they should fit you." he smiled handing her a pair of fingerless leather gloves.

"Wait.. are you giving these to me?" She asked, looking up from them in confusion.

"Yup. You can use them when you fight and practice. Then you can't forget me." He laughed.

"You're my first out of town mission.. I doubt I'd forget you." She grinned half-heartedly.

"That and he's a perv.." Kiba muttered under his breath.

"Either way, they can help you. They're yours now." Akio laughed.

"Fine.. but I'm gonna need breaks here and there." She sighed, falling back into her bridge and walking along side the carriage.

"That's alright." Akio smirked in triumph. _Sheesh this sucks.. it would be so much easier if I could bend my back more and look between my legs to walk instead of walking backwards.. I'll get there. _She mentally grumbled.

"I-I'll do it with you.." Hinata smiled, not wanting her teammate to be alone and taking the chance to work on her arm muscles.

"You don't have to if you don't want to Hinata." Shinobu said in an airy tone.

"It's a-alright. I n-need the practice." She smiled falling into a bridge before walking beside Shinobu, who slowed down a bit so Hinata wouldn't be left behind.

"So.. dude.. how did you know you were gay?" Kiba asked, walking on the other side of Akio's carriage.

"Hmm? Oh.. It's just.. nothing really.. guys are just more trustworthy, loyal and fun to be around. Plus they always have more muscles." Akio smirked.

"Girls can be trustworthy, loyal and fun to be around too you know." Kiba stated in slight confusion.

"Yes.. girls can.. but girls become women and women are lying, cheating whores." Akio growled.

"W-woah.. where did that come from?" Kiba looked shocked.

"No where in particular.. it's simply the truth." Akio stated, staring at his hands.

"What about Aaron and Yuki? You seem to like them." Kiba asked.

"They don't count.. they're not really girls.. they're.. ok well they're girls.. but the don't count as girls. They're different. Friends." He grumbled.

"But what about before they were friends? You had to have gotten to know them at one point." Kiba said cautiously, even he was smart enough to see he was treading in shark infested waters.

"I was stupid when I met them. I didn't realize what girls really were.. that was before.. ugh.. nevermind. Why do you even care?" Akio asked, eyeing Kiba suspiciously.

"No reason.. just.. making conversation.." Kiba mumbled.

"Well keep your nose out of my business." Akio growled.

"Got it.. sorry." Kiba said monotonously before moving a head of the carriage and walking in silence. Shinobu wondering what made him think like that as she tried to keep her footing.. well.. handing. For what was supposed to be a simple mission this sure was complicated..

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Voila! Pervy lines, A secret and a love for Shinobu? What else is Akio hiding? Find out in the next chapter (or next couple of chapters) I hope you enjoyed this :D p.s I KNOW Shinobu is only 12. I also know she is a he with lots of muscles who is fairly tall. Akio is 15 for those who are wondering.**

* * *

><p><strong>EclipseStripe: <strong>Haha, yup. She's probably sexy as a girl too but she never drops the genjutsu XD It's the Uchiha blood XD His reaction is soon MWEHEHEHE. Also, I wasn't sure if you meant the english as in the french or the english as in the japanese. So I bolded the french. Lol.

* * *

><p><strong>DutchyPuppy: <strong>I feel kind of sorry for them too but not so much after this chapter XD

* * *

><p><strong>Alli ate Sora-Sorry Roxas: <strong>Lol. That sucks. For me it's not math though. It's medical science =P Being a doctor is my back up plan. I'd love to be a performer. Preferably a circus performer but I'd be amazed with a dancer :P She manages. She's never identified with gender. only the need to survive and protect those to her close to her :P thanks for the song and the review :D I kept the song in my back reserves, not quite sure how i'll use it yet. :P

* * *

><p><strong>ThePheonix of Tears (2nd review): <strong>Another review? Lol! OMFG. Thelonelyisland *immediately thinks of rabbit sex, boats, grapes, boiled goose and fingerless gloves* LOL. I'll check it out. Kinda afraid but checking it out. *i am writing this before I checked it out so if it's the title you'll know I liked it or thought it fit* Ok.. so I watched the video.. I'm scarred and I officially love it :P I'm using it for humours sake XD *starts doing the creep with fake drawn on pencil stache lol*

* * *

><p><strong>ThePhoenixOfTears: <strong> Haha, that's because neither school nor dance have started and I'm neglecting packing my room. XD Haha, sorry it's so confusing. I confused myself with it. I would have done japanese but I dont know enough and it would be confusing. Yay almost melting moment XD Haha. And yes. Puppies. I think you'll have another freak out moment involving puppies later =P lol. YUP! The Pervy escortee XD An idea that I'm very happy to have gotten from you =P ya. I figure it's not all japanese. Unfortunately the language spectrum will probably get more confusing. Because english is japanese and french is english what happens when I need french? or spanish? LOL. Plus it makes for fun lines that the boys can't understand in the chapter above ;D lol. Aaah! Don't apologize for helping me. French is definitely not my first language. Other than studying it in school I've never learned. It's been a good 8 months since my last french class because I had it in first semester =P So I'll gladly take the help. P.S thank you for posting the actual line so I can fix it. Aah, as I edit I facepalm. I know most of this but because it's been so long I'm forgetting XD thanks about that. I think i fixed it all. If you notice anything wrong with future french please point it out XD I don't always notice lol. Merci! :D I see lots of "Hahaha"'s and "OMG"'s coming up XD Actually I think Kiba screamed in a "not so manly" fashion. Protective maybe, I think he's just used to Shinobu being his buddy and the gay thing isn't something he's used to. I'm glad I've managed to get you to laugh so much and yup. Akio moves a bit fast XD and he got his wish! Kiba's shirtless =P Akio is Shinobu's first fan boy. That number will probably increase after the great reveal XD Haha. Akio is fifteen and Shinobu is undeniably well built. He's muscley XD (pronounced 'muskley' lol) you have to admit that the ninja are all well built and Akio doesn't know their ages. They look older then they are and Akio is a perv. lol. YAY! I made someone's day :D Day two.. is interesting. LOL. Oooh you wanted to know the pronounciation? Nii-chan is knee-chan. As in the body part. Nee-chan is Neigh-chan. Like the sound a horse makes. Or like how Canadians say "eh". Well put an "n" infront of it? I updated quick and I'm super grateful for the songs XD Thanks. Unfortuneately most if not all of them are going to end up being used for future stuff so I'm screwed for now. But thanks, ur songs effected the story line a bit XD Got any funny ones? lol. Thanks for the review. THIS WAS LONG O.o


	16. Light up the Dark

**A/N: Yet another chapter. This has turned into my favourite fic. This is so much fun for me to write and I hope you all are enjoying it too. The song is Light up the Dark by Greyson Chance and it's a song from Akio's view. Fun note, it's not actually about Shinobu. So with no further interuptions - SHINOBU :D**

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

Shinobu sighed, looking at her reflection in the river. She looked like a guy.. she had the genitals to say she was a guy. She had the strength and the skill.. but she wasn't a guy. She threw a rock into the water to shatter her reflection.

"Why the hell couldn't I have been born a guy? Seriously, there can't be a god.. if there was he wouldn't have screwed up so horribly!" She yelled at no one in particular, burrying her head in her knees, smashing her forehead in the process.. not that she really cared. Why couldn't she have been a guy? She's be the exact same except she would have had a family.. she wouldn't have been so alone this entire time... and she could honestly say to Akio that she didn't like guys.

She sighed again before peaking over her knees back into the water. Shinobu had told her teammates that she was going to get clean. They hadn't met any large bodies of water along the way and while she wasn't one to care about her appearance she wasn't up for stinking either. She poked her foot into the water before groaning. It was freezing cold. Despite the weather outside.. it was like a river in the mountains. How was that even possible?

"Better get this over with.." She muttered under her breath, disrobing. Hinata and Kiba had bathed previously while she prepared food and set up the camp fire and tents. She didn't mind but she was definitely enjoying her time away from Akio. It gave her time to think.. ok so it wasn't all perks. What she would give for a day of not thinking about her family once.

Shinobu winced, inching her self into the water. She had goose pimples crawling up her skin as she shivered. She took a quick breath before dunking her head under the water. She came up with a screech. It had given her horrible brain freeze. She was literally shaking on the spot. It was no wonder Kiba had yelled. She watched in mild fascination as her skin slowly turned pink.. then purple.. then blue. Letting her body sink into the water as her skin grew painfully numb.

"You should probably get out.. you're going to get sick.." A voice murmered from behind her and she whipped her head around to see a smirking yet concerned Akio standing there with a towel. Her first reaction was to blush, her second made Akio chuckle as her hands flew to cover her crotch which wasn't really visible anyway through the white caps in the speeding water. It was then that she realized she had been drifting side ways down the river.

"J-just l-leave t-t-the towel there and I'll g-get out w-when you're g-g-gone." She stammered, trying to get out the sentence through chattering teeth.

"You're so numb.. if I let you do that you won't be able to function." He replied simply. She attempted to scowl at him but it was of no use, he was right. She could barely move. She sighed.

"I-it's not like having y-you here w-will c-change that." Shinobu complained. "I-i'd rather y-you n-n-n-not see m-me nnn-naked." She growled clenching her teeth in a failed attempt to stop her teeth from clashing.

"I'll close my eyes if it makes you happy.. just get out of the water..." He sighed, closing his eyes.

"T-t-turn around! I d-don't want you p-peaking." She chattered. He sighed but complied as she moved to the edge of the water and carefully hoisted herself out of the water, grabbing the towel from him and wrapping it around herself. The sound of her teeth ringing in her ears. How had she gotten so distracted that she didn't even notice how cold she was?

"You really shouldn't do that again.. you could get sick.. or die." Akio scolded, guiding her back to the camp. Everyone else had gone to find more firewood so it was just the two of them.

"I-I'm fine n-now... t-thanks." Shinobu said, despite her pain filled limbs.

"No you're not.. now let me help you." He sighed, wrapping a thick blanket around her shoulders. Shinobu immediately sunk into the covers, relishing in the heat. Her skin felt like it was burning because she was so cold.

"T-thank you.." she muttered. Leaning against a rock near the campfire. _Great.. the perv is being sweet.. but he hates women and thinks I'm a guy.. _She inwardly groaned, knowing she needed to tell him before he swore off guys too.

"Akio.. I-" She started but was interupted.

"Shh.. just rest.." He shushed her before wrapping an arm around her and bringing her closer to him. _He's so warm.. wait..no.. uuuum..what's happening... _

"Erm.. Akio.. I-I need to t-tell you something." She repeated.

"What is it?" He whispered and she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable, she was sitting between his legs and while he was warm and comforting it made things really awkward.

"I'm.. uh.." _Oh no.. how can I tell him before I've even told my team..?_

"Don't worry... just tell me later.. relax for now." He whispered, stroking small circles on her arm causing goose bumps to crawl up her spine. _Ok.. just for now.. I'll tell my team when they get back and then I'll tell him and hopefully he won't be too mad. _She thought.. she felt bad but she couldn't tell him until her team knew..with this thought in mind her eyelids drooped and as much as she fought it she found herself asleep.

* * *

><p>"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO SHINOBU?" Kiba screeched upon seeing what looked like a happy couple. Shinobu slowly opened her eyes with a small groan, trying to register where she was.<p>

"Nothing, why do you care?" Akio responded, looking rather amused.

"Because he's my friend you jackass! Did you hurt him! What the hell did you do?" He shouted wearing a glare that could kill.

"I didn't hurt him." Akio stated simply, still looking amused. It was then Shinobu realized that she was clinging onto Akio's t-shirt, tears staining her cheeks. She must have had another nightmare. She sat up letting the blanket fall to her lap revealing her bare muscled torso.

"Didn't hurt him my ass! He's been crying you asshole!" Kiba growled quickly wrapping the blanket around Shinobu and picking him up and out of Akio's reach.

"Kiba what is.. What happened?" Kurenai asked, looking shocked.

"I don't know! Akio won't tell me. I came here to find Shinobu asleep and crying with Akio holding him! The jackass did something to him!" Kiba yelled, gently putting Shinobu down in his tent.

"Now wait a second.. we don't know what happened, you can't just accuse Akio.." Kurenai replied logically. Shinobu laid there in silence watching Kiba's back as he fumed.. was he.. protecting her..?

"I didn't do anything, other than save him." Akio smirked and Kiba was speechless for a moment.

"C-could you explain?" Hinata asked quietly, she always dislike when Kiba got into arguements with people.

"He was freezing himself in the river. You know how cold it is in there. I knew he'd been there for a while so I checked on him. When I got there he was turning blue and could barely talk because his teeth were chattering so much. I helped him get out and warm up and then he fell asleep, that's it." Akio explained, looking smug.

"Wait... so.." Kiba started, his eyebrows knitted as he thought. Akio was expecting an apology or a mumbled "oh". Of course, Kiba would never voluntarily do what Akio wanted.

"WAIT! YOU SAW HIM NAKED?" He finally shouted after a long silence. Shinobu's cheeks flushed at the statement.

"No.. I closed my eyes until he had a towel." Akio replied calmly.

"Ok.. then why is he crying?" Kiba asked, clinging desperately for something to blame him with.

"I think he was having a nightmare.. I'm not really sure.. he started crying after he fell asleep." He said, his voice coated with concern and worry.

"See? Now that we're done accusing.. Can we-" Kurenai started.

"Kiba.. Shino.. Hinata.. Kurenai-sensei? Can I talk to you guys for a moment.. alone." Shinobu finally spoke, looking at the ground.

"Sure?" Kurenai smiled at her because they all gathered in the tent leaving Akio confused outside and out of hearing range.

"What is it..? Are you ok?" Kiba asked.. she had never seen him so worried before. Or so quiet for that matter.

"I.. I have something I want to tell you all.. It's just.. we're a team.. and as a team we shouldn't keep secrets or anything.. especially if it could effect teamwork.. so um.." She paused quickly putting on the sweater that Kiba had handed her, keeping the blanket around her waist. Kurenai looked mildy impressed, though she was trying to hide it. She hadn't expected Shinobu to come forward so soon.

"What is it?" Kiba asked impatiently.

"It's a long story.. so please don't interupt.. alright?" She sighed. Kurenai was confused, how could her gender be such a long story?

"Ya, ok. Just tell." Kiba said and Shinobu rolled her eyes.

"You see.. when I was born.. I was born a twin... I have a brother.. who'm you all know.. but we'll get to him later. He was allowed to stay with our family.. because he was a boy.. and to our father.. boys were strong. Strength was very important to him.. so he didn't want any girls to taint his family's image. So I was left in the street."

"Wait.. but you're a boy." Kiba stated in confusion.

"I said no interupting." Shinobu rolled her eyes before continued. "Anyway, so I lived in a little wooden house in the alley near the weapon's shop."

"You mean that little one every one loved using for playing ninja?" Kiba asked again.

"Seriously? Does anyone have duct tape? Stop interupting." Shinobu sighed. "But yes, that one. I built it when I was seven out of money I made working with Ayame and Tseuchi at the ramen shop. I had to deliver for my family once.. and was permanently banned from their compound. It wasn't long after then that I found out they had died.. leaving two known survivors.. my brothers.. because I didn't exists to the world. After all, my father told the hokage I died at birth.. no one other than Naruto and the Hokage knows who I am. When I joined the academy, I refused to attend as a girl.. for several reasons. One reason is that the girls don't get as much training because they are forced to take flower arrangement classes and such. I wanted to be strong, not be a housewife. So Iruka taught me a genjutsu so I could attend as a boy. A genjutsu I've been using daily since then. As time went on in the academy I interacted with my brother and fought him. I lost every time. I ended up telling Naruto.. who had gotten to know me better. When Naruto found out where I lived.. I ended up living with him.. I have my own room there and that's where I live. He's now on a team with my brother. Sasuke. Now you can ask question." She finished.

"To clarify.. there are three living Uchiha's and you are one of them but you were abandoned by your family because of your gender. You covered it up to become stronger and now you're living with Naruto?" Shino asked.

"Yes."

"S-so you're a g-girl?" Hinata asked.

"Yes."

"You're related to that bastard?" Kiba asked dumbfounded.

"Yes."

"Does the Hokage know you are living with Naruto?" Kurenai asked, concern showing in her eyes.. she expected to find out her student was indeed a girl.. not all of this.

"Yes."

"Wait.. so.. how come you don't have boobs?" Kiba finally asked after another moment of silence.

"Kai." Shinobu said simply, letting the jutsu drop. She didn't have a particularily large chest area but she was only twelve and she was so muscular.. she barely had any fat on her. But she did have enough for Kiba to notice, he looked awestruck as her long hair fell around her shoulders.

"You still look like Sasuke.. you have the same face.. just.. prettier eyes.. and a smaller jaw." Kiba muttered, digging a hole and quickly shutting up.

"Well.. we are identical twins.." Shinobu smiled half-heartedly.

"Wait... what a-about Ino-chan?" Hinata asked, having realized the girl's crush early on.

"Oh my.. and all your fangirls.." Kiba sat wide eyed before bursting into laughter.

"I'll have to tell them eventually I guess.. but not yet.. right now it can remain between you guys, the Hokage and Naruto.. oh.. and Moegi." She grinned. Her teammates looked confused but didn't say anything.

"What about Akio?" Shino asked.

"I'm telling him I don't like him like that and I'm sorry.." Shinobu sighed.

"You know he has an issues with women right?" Kiba asked.

"Ya.. I kind of wish I knew why but it's his business and my nose isn't going anywhere near it." She smiled.

"So does this mean you're going to start being a girl around us now?" Kurenai asked.

"No.. I don't want to be under-estimated, I don't want people asking questions and I'm too used to fighting as a girl now.. thinking of the number of times you've punched me in the chest it's probably safer on my part to remain a guy during combat." Shinobu grinned and Kiba's face flushed. The group exited the tent and Shinobu quickly put on some clothes that were her own before switching the genjutsu back and exiting herself, heading towards Akio. _Two confrontations in one day.. this sucks.._

"One last question.. why were you crying..?" Kiba asked, stopping her before she could reach Akio.

"Nightmare.." She mumbled.

"Of what..?"

"My father killed everyone in team eight because I was too weak.." She replied quietly, looking away.

"You know you're not weak right? You can kick my butt and I'm super strong." He bragged letting a dog like grin cover his features.

"I know.. thanks." She smiled giving him a hug before detouring to Akio.

"You ok?" He asked.

"Ya.. but I need to talk to you." She replied.

"About what?"

"Well.. it's uhm... you like me right?" She asked, mentally facepalming.. she sounded so arrogant putting it like that.

"Why.." he asked, looking cautious and worried.

"I just.. I don't like you like that.." She mumbled.

"Why? Do you like Kiba? Am I not good enough?" He immediately spat out.

"No.. that's not it.. I like you as a friend.. and I like Kiba as a friend.. I don't like either one of you as more. You're good enough but you deserve someone who will love you back.." She answered.. she felt guilty.. she knew what it was like to feel inadequate and she didn't want to make him feel like that.

"Can't you give me a chance? Why not?" He asked, his voice raising in volume.

"Because. I'm not what you're looking for!" She finally snapped.

"How do you know what I'm looking for? You're not me!" He growled.

"We live so far away it wouldn't work even if I did like you.. besides.. you're gay.. I'm not what you're looking for!" She said in exasperation.

"We could make it work! And that doesn't even make sense! I'm gay? So what, you're a guy!" He yelled, Shinobu was starting to feel very embarrassed as everyone started staring at her.

"Dude.. leave he-im alone.. he said he didn't like you. Let it drop." Kiba said, walking over and putting a supportive arm around Shinobu.

"So you do like him.. you're a liar.. what's so good about him? He's a ninja? I'll become a ninja if it makes you happy!" He shouted.

"I-it's not that he's a ninja.. I don't like him like that.. we're not a thing.. he's a friend." She tried to explain.

"Then why? Why am I not good enough for you!" He looked horribly distraught. Shinobu didn't quite understand.. it's not like they had any emotional connection.. all he'd done was hit on her.

"I never said that! But you're gay! I'm a girl!" She finally shouted.

"W-what? Don't lie.. You're not a girl.." He stammered looking shocked at first before looking hurt and pissed off.

"I'm not lying! I'm a girl!" She yelled in aggravation.

"I saw you in the river! You didn't go to cover anything but your crotch. Stop lying!" He said looking hurt.. he looked like he was about to cry.

"I'm not trying to hurt you.. ok? I'm using a genjutsu to hide my gender for personal reasons.. I am a girl.." She explained.

"I don't believe you! You're lying! Stop lying to me!" He screamed throwing his hands over his ears and tears streamed down his face. She didn't understand.. why was he this upset.. she felt horrible. She released the genjutsu.

"I'm not lying.. look.. I'm a girl." She said, crouching down infront of him and watching as his eyes widened taking in her appearance.

"B-but.. " Akio started but he was at loss for words.

"See now?" she asked.

"S-so what.. y-you can just keep using that genjutsu thing right! and then it'll be fine! I don't see the problem." Akio looked like a lost puppy, gripping to what little hope he had left.

"But then I wouldn't be me.. you wouldn't be happy dating someone who isn't real right?"

"B-but.. you'd still be you just with different parts." he argued but you could tell he knew it was a losing battle.

"But it's not me.. I'm sorry.." She said, going to stand up.

"Then I'll deal with you being a girl... just.. give me a chance.." He said, wiping his eyes.

"I'm not going to do that.. I'd love to be your friend.. but nothing more.. I'm sorry." She said before standing and walking towards the tent she was sharing with Kiba.

"I'll take whatever shift you set me up for, just wake me when I'm needed." She said, disappearing into the tent.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'm having a small problem while writing this.. I actually like ShinobuxAkio as a yaoi couple. But Shinobu's not a guy.. AGH.. why do I do this to myself? Lol.**

* * *

><p><strong>Linda Ku: <strong>Haha, don't worry about it. Thanks for your review now btw :D I'm glad you liked it and Akio's humour. You want to meet Akio? Haha XD Next chapter is up quick *well.. posted above lol.* Along with said reaction :D

* * *

><p><strong>DutchyPuppy: <strong>Hmm.. I wonder if you were right? *is posted above* lol. And ya, not all women do but some do =P

* * *

><p><strong>Alli ate Sora-Sorry Roxas: <strong>You should definitely see a circus. Contortionists, trapeze artists and trampoline artists are my favourite. You can check them out on youtube. Just type in "Cirque du soleil Allegria contortionist" or trapeze. I've seen Cirque du soleil twice and they're amazing. I'm the same, that's why it's fun for me to write her. Oh.. you typed 83? Was that not a song? lol Because it's by john mayer or something or other. Yush, see I want Akio to be a perfect balance between pervy, sweet, emotional and stoic. lol :D Thanks for the review :D

* * *

><p><strong>ThePhoenixOfTears: <strong>Yup, I love that song XD The llama song.. that'll be a challenge.. challenge.. ACCEPTED! :D I'm definitely not using Friday :P but thank you :D oooh. Haha, okey, mis-understanding :P Maybe he is maybe he isn't XD aah, he's protect of her because she's so shy and she's on his team. I'm fine with long reviews XD and thanks with the french I appreciate it. Haha, snuggle buddy XD I giggled myself when writing this. Oh, when the fat guy said that he meant just as in they just recently became ninja lol. Shinobu and Kiba were talking so they were distracted and they're in cloth tents. That's why his team rolled their eyes at his "modesty" lol. I definitely like Akio :P I might just have to bring him back later :P Aah, the genjutsu turns her into a male. So if she takes off her tank top they'll just see a muscular boob free chest XD Fou can mean crazy or mad? That's what I thought anyway. I'll fix it though. Haha Akio is definitely a touchy touchy guy and he is moving kinda fast :P Yes it was awakward XD I can believe Aiko said that :P In fact I laughed my butt off because of how wrong it is XD He's definitely one of my favourite Oc's lol. This mission; will not be forgotten xD In acrobatics class we have to hold it for 2 minutes. I can walk like that, you just have to get good at it. :P My heels stay down though unless I get to where my back is no longer comfortable :P That was sexist, I like the quote and agree with it but Akio has his reasons, they'll be revealed :P Yay XD I had good french :D I updated soon lol. Mirror is taking back stove for a while, I don't think SS is going to slow down till well after the chunin exams XD You were going to say what instead of great? You never typed it lol. Thanks for the review! :D

* * *

><p><strong>EclipseStripe: <strong>Haha, oooh. Good idea but I don't want to do that because the funny part is that not everyone can understand. Plus I explain it for the most part. I like it better that most of my readers can't understand what Akio is saying. It puts them in team 8's shoes in a way. Plus it's fun XD Hmm... you wanna know what he's saying.. never thought of that one. Urgh.. I don't know how to solve this problem =/ I'd rather not change the language just because it takes away from the feel. If you want I can start answering what everything means at the bottom of each chapter? I'll go back and edit the other ones? Thanks for the review!


	17. Deafening Silence

**A/N: The song is Deafening Silence by Machine Head and the lyrics fit perfectly with this chapter. The singers voice is beautiful and enchanting and it stirs up so emotion. (when I say enchanting and beautiful..i mean it has talent but it's not soft for the entire thing.. just listen to it.. It physically hurts my heart listening.) hopefully this will shed a little (more like a lot) of light on Akio's personality and why he acts the way he does.**

* * *

><p><strong>Note: The entire thing is in "english" a.k.a french, the conversion in the flashback and the thoughts. I just didn't want to switch it because I needed everyone to understand lol p.s Italics (like paragraphs of italics) are flashbacks. Because of the language switches. Japanese will be english in bold. English will be normal english. There's too much important stuff to have it not understood XD<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Warning: There's a rather homophobic situation depicted below. I completely support homosexuality so I don't want anyone thinking I don't. But it is a tad violent and things like that DO happen. I believe it's still under the teen rating and that anyone 13 and up should be ok listening to it. If you are going to bash because of the gayness I don't want you here anyway because your ignorance DISGUSTS me. That is all :D enjoy.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Akio POV<strong>

_"Stop complaining you little brat." She whispered harshly, hitting him upside the head before speeding up to hug his father around the waist. "I love you honey." She whispered in her ear, her voice filled with false intentions._

_"Ok, Akio. This is only the first time that we're going to be here but because of business we'll probably be visiting often. Feel free to wander around and make friends. Maybe you can get a penpal or something. Just be home by eight alright?" His father grinned, he had just been appointed mayor and was looking over trading with a small village outside of Konoha. Little eight year old Akio wasn't so impressed though._

_"Fine.. uh.. bye.." He muttered before darting away. That woman sickened him. He was eight yes.. but he knew a bad person when he saw one. All women were like that. Freaking pigs._

_"Uh.. I saw you talking with the mayor dude.. do you know him? I haven't seen you around here before." A boy with gleaming onyx eyes and shaggy black hair grinned._

_"Ya.. h-he's my father. My name's Akio.. what's your name?" Akio asked nervously._

_"Alexander. You can call me Alex, or Zander.. or Alexander, whatever I don't really care. I'm surprised you speak english.. not many people do. Makes it hard to make friends sometimes. I still need to learn. I'm nine by the way." The boy smiled._

_"Cool, I'm eight and I know what you mean.."_

_"Eight? Really? I thought you were nine or ten. You sure act older than an eight year old." Alexander laughed._

_"R-really? I never noticed." Akio smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head to sooth the aching._

_"You ok?" Alexander asked._

_"Hmm? Oh ya.. just.. my head's a little sore." He muttered._

_"That woman is your mother? She seems like a bitch!" He growled. Akio's eyes widened at the language. Sure he had heard her use words like that, sometimes even his father when he was mad.. but.. never someone his age._

_"Haha, never heard a word like that? You'll get used to it. Makes my mother bloody mad though." He grinned._

_"Ya.. she's my step-mother.. I won't call her anything like that though. She's foreign. Her name's Laura, which is what I call her. The only person who I call mom is my real mom.. but.. she's a .. bitch.. too." He explained, testing out the new word._

_"There ya go, not that hard. Ouch.. seems like your track record with girls is awful. Oh well. Do you visit often.. or are you going to?" Alex asked._

_"Ya. Apparently my dad and Laura are coming down at least once a month for meetings with your mayor and the trading companies." Akio smiled half-heartedly. Maybe visiting wouldn't be so bad if he had a friend here._

_"Awesome! Then we can be friends." Alexander grinned. "C'mon. I want you to meet my sister!" He grabbed Akio's hand before running off through the city. When they finally stopped it was at a small worn down shack._

_"Aaron! I have a friend! He speaks english!" Alexander yelled into the building. Inside there were two beds and a small table. There was also a big hole in the floor near the corner of the room which a young girl walked out of._

_"Hey there. My name's Aaron, as he's told you. I'm his sister. I'm ten. Who are you?" She asked dusting off her overalls._

_"My name's Akio.. is she really ok?" He asked looking towards Alex who nodded. "I'm eight by the way."_

_"Ok? Why wouldn't I be..?" She asked looking rather confused._

_"All of the girls he knows are cruel." Alex stated._

_"You know.. if you're only looking at one or two trees that are rotten.. and assume all the trees are rotten.. you're dumb. You need to take a step back and look at the whole forest. It's so beautiful it'll make you forget about those one or two rotten trees." She smiled._

_"Are you sure you don't have that backwards? Because I stepped back and I see a hell of a lot of rotten trees and one or two good ones. It's making me think the whole forest is rotten." He grumbled._

_"Sheesh.. you already have Alex's potty mouth. Oh well.. you can get to know me and see not all of us women are bad." She smiled._

* * *

><p>Akio sighed, looking at the back of his friend's head. Even then Aaron had been sweet and kind to him despite his actions. She was always there for him, yet still.. she was simply a gorgeous sakura tree amongst a rotten forest.<p>

The group had made on with there trip in silence ever since the big blow up yesterday. Shinobu woke him up but spoke little to him. He felt bad.. but he felt like he had to try to keep her.. he didn't want to see her cry again.. or freeze herself. He wanted to know what was wrong so he could fix it.. yes she was a girl.. but maybe she was another Sakura tree.. maybe he just needed to take the time to see that. If he was honest.. he wanted her to fill the gap..

"Aaachoo!" Shinobu sneezed. "**'scuse me.. **" She muttered. She had gotten an awful cold since the river incident, though she wouldn't accept the carriage when Akio offered.

"**I have no clue how you can be cold in this weather.**" Kiba sighed, he had long since given up fanning himself in an attempt to cool down. Even though he was only in shorts he felt like he was on fire while Shinobu was bundled up in her sweater. Now that Akio thought about it she was the only one on her team to where anything slightly revealing. The rest of her team wore sweaters, hoods and glasses.

"**Ya well.. that's what I get for being stupid.**" She muttered.

"**You know.. if you want to feel real heat I'm sure the others wouldn't mind taking a break.**" Akio smirked half heartedly in an attempt to seem normal.

"**Dude.. no.. just... no..**" He shooked his head in response.. not even freaking out. Akio sighed. This.. sucked.

"You're thinking of him again aren't you.." Aaron asked through the wall of the carriage.

"N-no.. I..yes.." he sighed. There was really no point in lying to her.. she knew him too well.

"What about trying to find someone new.. there's plenty of fish in the sea." She said, though her voice held little hope.

"Ya.. I tried that.. he turned out to be a she who hates me.. turned out great didn't it?" He said with dripping sarcasm. Aaron just sighed knowing it was the end of the conversation. They continued to walk in silence and Akio's mind drifted yet again.

* * *

><p><em>"Alex.. zander.. dude.. where are we going?" Akio asked, following his best friend with a confused frown on his face.<em>

_"Just somewhere cool.. I really think you're gonna like it." He grinned, dragging Akio behind him. Akio wanted to ask more but realized quickly it would do no good._

_"There! We're here!" Alexander grinned up at the underside of the bridge. It was a small walking bridge over a river in a small village near Konoha. Akio visited all the time with his father due to work._

_"A bridge.. I don't get it." Akio sighed. _

_"Of course you don't.. just follow me." Alexander grumbled before jumping onto a small platform supporting the bridge beams and climbing up them. They were made of stone but were at an angle so it wasn't all that hard to climb. Once he was at the firs break he turned around._

_"You coming? Or are you too scared?" Alexander smirked, his onyx eyes gleaming in the sunlight._

_"I am not!" Akio growled, climbing up to join him._

_"S..so now what?" He asked, a little uncertain._

_"We keep going, don't fall.. k?" He smiled before moving to the outside of the beam and stepping around the break, clinging to the edge of the bridge so he wouldn't fall. On the other side was another flat platform under the bridge, it was shaded and was large anough for four people to comfortably sit without fear of falling off, only two people if they were laying down._

_"How did you get over there?" Akio asked, staring in horror at the break in front of him. It was only a couple of inches thick but a wall was a wall and there was nowhere to step around it._

_"Just swing your feet around while holding the edge. It's not that hard." Alexander's voice spoke from the other side of the wall._

_"F-fine.. but If I fall you're so dead!" Akio threatened half-heartedly as he grasped the edge of the bridge attempting to get footing on the other side. He thought he had it and let go of the bridge when he felt his foot slip, butterflies filled his stomache as his eyes widened in fear._

_"Alex!" He screamed as he started to fall. But as quick as he slipped a hand gripped his wrist pulling him up onto the platform before he found himself in a tight hug, clinging to the t-shirt of his best friend._

_"Sheesh.. you're such a baby sometimes.. if you're not careful you're going to get yourself killed." Alexander scolded half-heartedly_

_"I-I am not!" Akio stuttered, quickly backing away from his friend and leaning agains the break._

_"Sure sure.. but it's pretty up here, eh?" Alex grinned looking out over the rippling waters. There were a couple of fallen flowers floating down the river._

_"Ya.. it is.." Akio whispered, in awe now that he let the view sink in. They were a good two stories above the river and it was gorgeous. Akio closed his eyes, leaning against the small wall and enjoying the serenity of the area around him, it was really nice until he felt something warm brush his cheeks. His eyes snapped open to see Alexander less than an inch away._

_"What?" Akio whispered. He was feeling slightly uneasy and confused as Alex didn't answer. He was about to say something when he felt his lips brush against something warm, it took him a minute to register but when it did his eyes widened. He was kissing his best friend.. he was kissing his best male friend.. oh shit._

_"You look like you just saw a ghost." Alexander smirked when he broke away._

_"Y-you kissed me?" he whispered in response, as if he didn't believe it._

_"So I kissed you? I think your attractive. Therefore I kissed you. Am I not attractive to you?" Alexander smirked._

_"Well.. uh...I..um.. you are, Zander.. but.. we're both guys.." Akio muttered awkwardly._

_"So what? You just admitted you think I'm attractive, we're already best friends. So we're both guys, I'm not seeing a problem." He smirked, kissing him again._

* * *

><p>Akio was shaken from his thoughts with the sound of a scream. Clashes of weapons echoed in his ears as his eyes widened. There was a group of probably genin ninja outside. Akio knew full well that people were trying to get his father out of office because of the murder of the last mayor.. but attacking him? Wasn't that going overboard.. It wasn't his father's fault anyway no matter where people laid the blame.<p>

"**Akio duck!**" Shinobu yelled appearing with a flash infront of him to block a series of throwing knives.

"**Where should I be right now?**" He asked, trying to keep calm.

"**Stay the fuck still so I can protect you. Think of it this way..**" She paused to pick him up and flip out of the way of a fire jutsu. "**If you move.. you'll probably die.**" She growled, charging forward to start fighting the attackers with taijutsu. They were obviously mid to long range fighters and were having serious issues blocking her attacks as she swiveled and flipped around them.

"**And you call me the potty mouth?**" Kiba laughed through gritted teeth as he blocked a kunai with his arm, not having enough time to block it properly.

"**Are you ok?**" Akio squeaked wide eyed. He thought they didn't like him.. but they were going through all this trouble to protect him.. probably only because his father paid them.. but still..

"**Ya, I'm fine. Now stop thinking stupid thoughts, it shows on your face when you do.**" Kiba growled preparing fang over fang and drilling an enemy who was attempting to sneak up on Akio. Kurenai attacked their jonin leader. Apparently it was a genin team similar to their own, just, several more genin.

"**Make a noise.. and I'll kill you.**" A voice growled from behind Akio, gripping both of his hands behind his back as something cool pressed against his neck. He nodded slightly to let the person know he understood without cutting himself.

"**Good boy.. looks like my father was right about you. Useless shit.**" He laughed quietly, dragging him backwards.

"**Oh no you don't.**" Shinobu growled, her fist grazing Akio's ear as she smashed the offender's face in. "**Are you alright?**" Was the last thing he heard before he was out cold.

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_**Why do you dress like a fag?**__" a boy smirked, staring Akio down who just looked on in slight confusion. He knew what the words meant... but he didn't know how to respond. He didn't know enough Japanese yet._

_"__**What? Can't speak Japanese pretty boy? Why don't you go crying to mister big shot daddy. We all know he's a murderer!**__" Another boy laughed._

_"__**No... NO!**__" Akio screamed._

_"__**No what?**__" The boy smirked._

"_**No..**__" Akio growled. He knew he disagreed with them.. that what they were saying was wrong.. but since his only friend spoke english he never bothered learning Japanese. He didn't know how to form what he wanted to say. The boys just laughed._

"_**Leave him alone.**__" A voice growled, a familiar voice. Alexander? Why was he sticking up for him.. was he that important? They barely saw each other but when they did Alexander looked so happy.. Akio didn't understand._

"_**Why should I? He your boyfriend or something?**__" The girl clinging onto one of the boys shoulders sneered. _

"_**Why should it matter to you? Fucking homophobes. Just because you have no lives doesn't mean you should insult somebody else's!**__" Alex growled before he received a ringed punch to the face._

"_Alex!" Akio screamed kneeling down to see if he was alright before he felt his hair yanking him backwards._

"_**What? Your little boyfriend got hurt?**__" The boys laughed, kicking Alex in the ribs. Akio closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to watch but immediately recieved a slap to the face._

"_**Watch it you fag.**__" Akio could taste the salt of his tears against his lips as he watched Alex struggle to fight them. He couldn't let them do this.. he had to fight too. He quickly found a new determination and bit the boy holding him on the arm, forcing him to let go before darting forward to punch them and get them off Alex._

"_**Haha, the fag's fighting back!**__" One of the boys grinned, grabbing his wrist and pinning him to a fence. "__**What..? You guys try so hard to defend each other? You don't want him to get hurt? Does he even care about you? After all.. he's just standing there while you're stuck.**__" The boy smirked and Akio's determination faltered. Why wasn't he fighting now? Did he do something wrong? Akio looked over the boy's shoulder to see Alex staring at him, his expression blank._

"_**Well isn't this boring.. hmm, wonder if we could make him mad. That would be fun..**__" Another boy grinned, pinning his other wrist to the fence and crushing his own lips against Akio's, bruising them in the process. Akio whimpered as he felt his teeth cut open his lip._

"_**GET THE FUCK OFF HIM!**__" Alexander shouted before punching one of the guys and aiming for the other's family jewels._

"_**Fucking scary.. fags are.. gotta watch it.. they'll start a cult and we'll all turn.**__" A boy whimpered before they all ran for it._

"_Why'd you do that?" Akio asked looking at him in confusion._

"_Because... I love you.." Alexander smiled, drawing Akio into a hug. "I'll never let them hurt you again.."_

* * *

><p>"<strong>Akio.. wake up..<strong>" Shinobu said, trickling water from her water bottle onto his face. He groaned but it worked none the less.

"What?" He asked, sighing.

"We're here." Aaron smiled half heartedly, knowing he didn't particularily like it here. She didn't either, but she was here for him. Whenever he left, she'd follow. Guess it came with the whole unconditional love thing.

"**AKIO! Sweety! I missed you so much!" **A woman with shoulder length blond hair squealed before bringing him into a big, bone crushing hug with a huge smile on her face. Despite the size of her smile, it held no emotion other than hatred and disgust. Team eight just stood awkwardly behind them, wondering if they should say something, just leave or whether they owed a goodbye.

"Laura.. let go of me. You have nothing to prove here nor are we in public." Akio growled.

"Don't talk to me like that.." She growled under her breath. "**And to you! The wonderful ninja who brought my darling boy home. We happily invite you to stay the night, recooperate and relax before you start your journey back." **She smiled, gesturing to the large mansion behind her.

"**As much as we would love to I think that's a little bit out of our mission guidelines. We'll manage until we reach Konoha.**" Shinobu smiled politely before Kiba could say something stupid. Akio looked flabbergasted.

"What? Why would you invite them to stay?" He shouted.

"It's common curtesy and your father wants to thank them!" She spat under her breath.

"**I insist. I refuse to let you leave until you've stayed the night.**" She smiled, pushing them into the house and towards the living room, cutting off all of their protests.

"**Are you sure this is alright?**" Kurenai asked, it was routine to refuse gifts like this if possible but it didn't seem like this woman was giving them an option.

"**I insist! It's perfectly fine, my name is Laura by the way. I hope Akio wasn't too much trouble.**"

"**He wasn't, thank you for welcoming us into your home.**" Kurenai smiled.

"**You don't have to sugar coat his awful behaviour. I love him but he's a brat.**" Laura snorted. Akio just kept his mouth shut.

"**He wasn't a brat at all. He was polite, kind caring and a pleasure to escort.. **_**m'am**_**.**" Shinobu said with a twitching smile. Was it just him or did she say "m'am" with an underlying threat to it.

"**Hmm.. interesting boy. Is he one of **_**your type**_**?**" She asked Akio.

"**If you are saying I'm homosexual, I like males. There is nothing wrong with that regardless of gender.**" Shinobu let her smile turn into an icy glare.

"**My my.. such hostility. I was just asking. I understand. Welcome to our home. Can I get all of your names?**" Laura asked with a smile.

"**I'm Kurenai.. their sensei. This is Shinobu, Hinata, Kiba and Shino. Thank you for the stay.**" Kurenai introduced sheepishly.

"**Wonderful! Akio can show you to your rooms afterwards but first. I have a gift for you Akio!**" Laura smiled, that type of smile that makes your blood run cold. Akio looked up to see the door open. His eyes widened in shock and he opened his mouth but couldn't even begin to think of something to say.

"You.." he whispered.

* * *

><p>"<em>Answer the damn door already.." Akio muttered to himself as he knocked again, probably bruising his knuckles. Alexander had told him that he wanted to hang out today but he had been trying to get a hold of him for a good thirty minutes and no one was answering. He wasn't quite sure what to do.<em>

"_Oi.. what are you doing here?" A voice said from behind him, he whipped around just in time to feel his heart shatter in his chest. There was his best friend.. his first kiss and his rock, standing with a girl clinging to his arm, kissing him._

"_You said you wanted to hang out today... what's she doing here?" He asked, narrowing his eyes into a hard glare when he recognized her. She was the girl from the group that beat Akio and himself up. _

"_She's my girlfriend, dude. I wanted you to meet her. After all you're my best bud. She was smart enough to believe me when I said we were both straight. She's awesome eh?" He grinned. Akio just stood there, awestruck as the girl smirked triumphantly. _

"_Some forest.." Akio muttered under his breath. "Really? Because you didn't seem so straight when you were kissing me." he growled with accusing eyes._

"_Oh? I just wanted to try it. No big deal. I'm straight. Why.. are you still hung up over that?" He asked with what appeared to be an innocent worried look to anyone who didn't know him, but Akio saw the smirk in his eyes._

"_So you got beat up over the fag for nothing then?" Akio stated, with an eery calmness to him._

"_You're not a fag. I was just defending my friend dude. What's wrong with you?" Alexander asked._

"_I thought you said he wasn't gay." The girl asked eyeing Akio up with cold judgemental eyes._

"_I thought he wasn't babe. I know I'm not.. just never figured my best bud would be a fag." Alexander said, shaking his head._

"_Didn't know? How the fuck didn't you know! We were kissing yesterday for god's sake!" He shouted, throwing caution and worry to the wind. He was pissed._

"_Having gay fantasies are we? He's mine. So if you were smart you wouldn't do that anymore." The girl sneered, bringing Alexander into a lip lock._

"_Are you kidding me.. we've been friends since I was fucking eight and you're spewing this shit now?" Akio cried, clenching his fists._

"_Haha.. I can tell. You really did pick up the mouth. Bro, I was bi-curious. It didn't work out for me. Gays are just too... gay." He smirked. Akio couldn't even respond.. Alexander was his best friend.. but to him Akio was nothing more than an experiment.. maybe he knew somewhere deep down.. but atleast he was his experiment.. there was no one else.. _

_Now he stood looking at the bitch who stole his dignity and the bastard who stole his heart and he couldn't even feel mad. He wasn't mad, angry or pissed off. There was too much pain to feel anything. The lump in his throat physically hurt his jaw as tears welled up in his eyes. His heart weighed down his entire body and his stomache felt like it had dropped to the floor, yet somehow it still had those little butterflies he got whenever he saw Zander. This couldn't be happening.. it shouldn't.. he wouldn't do that to him.. __**But he did.. **__ the voice in his head knew.. but he wouldn't admit it.. he could never.. admit it.._

* * *

><p>"He was my best friend.. but I was nothing more than his experiment." Akio whispered to himself. Not knowing whether he should cry, scream, shout, hit something, smile, hug him, hide, run away. His mother really was a bitch.. she knew what happened.. yet..<p>

"Hey bro.. been a while eh?" Alexander smirked.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: CLIFFY XD Wow.. holy flashbacks! :D I hope this cleared a couple of things up a tad, more will be explained as time goes on. It's a long chapter and I hope you enjoyed reading. I also hope I didn't offend anyone.. though nothing in here is really offending.. the only slightly offending situation is part of the story and I have said quite clearly that I support homosexuality. Had I been there with the two of them I would have personally hit each and every butt munch there.**

* * *

><p><strong>Alli ate Sora-Sorry Roxas: <strong>MWEHEHE XD I love the circus, they're awesome. Some people think contortionist are kinda gross but I think they're amazing. (no duh I wanna be one XD) oooh 83 was a face? *deletes song* yay :D lol. Gender revealed! and haha, yup, freezing water =P Thanks for the review, glad you liked it.

* * *

><p><strong>DutchyPuppy: <strong>Ya :/ I feel bad for him too, even more so after this chapter. Haha, yup :D You were XDDD Thanks for the review :D

* * *

><p><strong>Linda Ku: <strong>First off, thanks for the review :D Haha, I made a non-yaoi fan.. like a yaoi couple? I feel oddly accomplished XD Well.. kinda a yaoi couple.. lol XD Uh oh.. O.o if you felt sad last chapter I'm curious how you felt this one. lol. The fangirls... hmm... I can't imagine that one turning out good no matter how many ways she tells them xD I hope you're just against yaoi and not homosexuality :/ and I hope nothing in this chapter offended you O.o..

* * *

><p><strong>ThePhoenixOfTears: <strong>Yup :D an update. And yes, I'll definitely bring him back even if it takes a while. I won't neglect mirror. I'll end up updating it with in the next couple of days. "Lol, I was going to say, instead of great, but I have trouble spelling it" what word? lol. I'm confused beyond belief. Oh well XD google it for spelling? lol, curiousity is killing me. Well, no, she would have been six feet under if they accepted her after, like if she was outcast then accepted. Since she's Sasuke's twin i imagine her having a similar relation with Itachi so like Sasuke I believe she would be ... bathing.. definitely awkward. But after 5 years of doing it I assume she would get used to it. I think it would be weird at first.. but kinda cool later on. Especially since as time goes by her chakra gets more used to it it's almost second nature. Ya.. Akio seeing her bathe.. AWKWARD XD even if she's a guy. She didn't put on clothes because of how cold she was. She was painfully numb and Akio was keeping her warm. She was crying, and clinging to him. Damn nightmares lol. I imagine that being really cute XD I think Kiba just didn't trust Akio and was worried about Shinobu. Who has been his friend since they were 7-8. She definitely has guts, she needs them to survive all she's been through and still be able to smile. Haha, interupting is definitely Kiba like. Fugaku is a butt-head.. but we hear more about him later :P along with Itachi xD Haha, when i was trying to think of what kiba would do in that situation it was the first thing that came to mind. "Are you naturally flat chest or.. why don't you have boobs." lol. I reworded of course but that's it XD Aaah, no. As Kurenai says in the chapter where they get teams. "That's Shinobu right? Uchiha?" She knows that Shinobu is an Uchiha, but not that she's closely related to Sasuke or anything in detail as the Hokage left it up to Shinobu to tell. Uh oh O.o hi expectation involving fan girls. Hopefully I will not disappoint is mean :P but alas.. everyone has there good qualities and bad qualities. :P See *spoiler alert, but not really since it's above fail lol* He does think all women are horrible.. but he wants to try it with Shinobu not because it's Shinobu but because Shinobu looks like someone else he knew and acts like he used to. That's why he's so upset over her even though he's only known her for 2 days. But don't worry, this and his reason for hating women will be explained XD He's not actually gay gay.. he's bi.. he just leans to the gay side because of his hatred of women. I'm glad you liked it :D It's definitely emotional but the tear jerker is yet to come :P Hopefully you'll know when it's here. I'll do my best XD I'm still looking for funny songs AND songs in general. Thanks for the review! Fun fact; I always keep your reviews at the end because they're the longest and I don't want other people thinking they didn't get a response because it was hidden by your review XD lol!


	18. Something

**A/N: FOREMOST: Sorry to everyone who gave me an extra hit because of the chapter which I ended up taking down before this. It was an explanation I'm about to give below. Gomen. The song is the Something by Escape the fate because I've used it's lyrics and it fits in, in it's own way. So you don't know this but this chapter was re-written and it's not nearly as good as the first time and it's shorter. I hope you'll forgive me that.. I suck at re-writing stuff. I got most of the main parts right. I have most of my story back into place but some things were definitely changed so if future story contradicts what I've told you I'm sorry. This was because I somehow managed to delete all of my planning, songs and this entire chapter. My planning went all the way to the Shinobi war.. so it sucked. Sorry about that. Enjoy.**

* * *

><p><em>"He was my best friend.. but I was nothing more than his experiment." Akio whispered to himself. Not knowing whether he should cry, scream, shout, hit something, smile, hug him, hide, run away. His mother really was a bitch.. she knew what happened.. yet..<em>

"_Hey bro.. been a while eh?" Alexander smirked._

* * *

><p><strong>Kiba POV<strong>

"It's been a while.. that's all you have to say?" Akio breathed. "I should fucking kill you now you bastard. Get the hell out of here!" He yelled. Alexander just shrugged.

"My my.. don't be mean to our new guest. May I talk to the both of you in the kitchen?" Laura ordered rather than asked. Team eight stood awkwardly in the living room wishing they had just left when they were given the chance. Kiba sighed, Laura's smile was so obviously fake.. she seemed like she hated Akio.. maybe it was because of her that he hates women?

"Now listen here you dumb little shit. You're going to do as I say and keep your fucking mouth shut about this. If you tell anyone you'll find yourself in a sticky situation.. got it fag?" Laura growled. Kiba winced as he heard Akio's voice swiftly followed by a smack that echoed through the room. _Who hits their kid.. who talks like that to their kid..? No wonder Akio despised women.. Laura's a bitch..!_

He looked up just in time to see Akio storm out of the kitchen, straight past them, into his room. His cheek was flaming red and it looked like he was about to cry.

"Well I'm so sorry about that.. I'm sure Alexander won't mind showing you to your rooms though. Also, there is an outdoor bath on the roof. Feel free to use it during your stay." Laura smiled. Kiba felt like throwing up. He thanked the heavens that his family, though tough at times, would never do something like that. Alexander ushered them up the stairs in the direction Akio had just taken.

"Kurenai-san. This is your room." Alexander smiled. Kiba wondered how he knew their names but didn't let it bother him. Kurenai looked at her team but decided to go, she trusted them and knew they could defend themselves if need be.

"S-so.. Alexander-san.. why d-doesn't Akio-san like y-you?" Hinata asked curiously.

"We used to be best friends." Alexander smiled before ushering her into her room. She looked rather embarrassed and more than willing to hide her face. Shino soon followed.

"If you were friends why was he so pissed?" Kiba asked as he opened the door to his room.

"A simple mis-understanding. Enjoy your stay." He said before walking up the stairs.

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

Shinobu found it odd that she was on a different floor than the rest of her team.. and there was only one room on this floor. She pushed it to the back of her brain and instead paid attention to Alexander who began talking.

"So he replaced me with you now did he? Let's get this straight.." Alexander smirked pushing Shinobu into a wall. "You'll never be good enough for him and if you're smart.. you'll stay away from him. Enjoy your room." He growled before disappearing down the stairs. _What was that about? _She thought entering her room and freezing. It was a bloody mess in there.. literally.. blood smeared the windows and there was a hole in the bed. _W-what the hell happened in here? _She didn't know what to do.. was she supposed to fix it? Maybe she should just go tell Kiba..

She beelined from the room and burst into his room downstairs. Her hands were shaking and it was taking all the self control she had not to curl up into a ball and cry.

"Oi! Don't you know how to knock? T-turn around or something." Kiba freaked out, quickly pulling his shirt over his head. He was changing out of his usual attire into a pair of shorts and a muscle tank.

"It's not like it's something I haven't seen before.." She grumbled but closed her eyes none the less.

"Y-ya.. but I didn't know you were a girl!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Well I'm sorry? I didn't realize my gender would change our friend ship.. go hang out with Sasuke then." Shinobu growled before promptly storming out of the room with a sigh.

* * *

><p><strong>Kiba POV<strong>

_Several Hours Later_

Kiba sighed, staring at his ceiling. No matter what he did he couldn't manage to fall sleep. Part of him was wishing that Shinobu hadn't told him that, wished that things stayed the same and wished he thought she was a boy still. Wished that that things weren't awkward.. wished that he didn't see her as a girl. He was afraid of saying something wrong.. doing something off. The only girl he was ever used to hanging out with was Hinata and she was quiet and generally didn't get offended by anything. Any other females were his family. He never had a really close female friend and he was finding it awkward. Above all he wished he could stop thinking about her and just go to sleep.

He groaned, messing up his hair as he stood up. Laura had mentioned a bath on the roof, maybe he could take a bath, relax and then sleep. If he didn't get sleep soon he was going to be seriously screwed over on the trip home. He made his way up the stairs and looked around. There was only two doors and one had a window in it so it was pretty easy to tell which one led to the roof.

When he got there he headed to a small greenhouse type building that was for changing. He was just about to change when he heard a soft voice echo, slicing the air. He froze on the spot.. it sounded so familiar.. he'd recognize it anywhere.. even if it lost it's boy-ish tone. Shinobu.

"So now you're running.. It's hard to see clearly, when I make you angry. You're stuck in the past.. and now you're screaming. So can you forgive me? I've treated you badly.." Kiba felt shivers run up his spine at the pure emotion and pain in her voice. It took one line.. why should gender change things.. she was always there for him..

"But I'm still here! Sometimes I wonder.. why I'm still waiting? Sometimes I'm shaking.. That's how you make me.. Sometimes I question.. why I'm still here? Sometimes I.. think I'm going crazy...!" She sang, he needed to be there for him to.. she was his friend.. he wouldn't ditch her because of something stupid..

"CAN YOU HELP ME OUT NEXT TIME?" She screamed into the cold air. Her breath turning white as it collided with the on-coming breeze. He could hear her choked sobs in every word. Her voice.. was so soft.. so innocent.. so pure.. yet it held such raw emotion.. power..

"And now you wish that you meant something! And now you wish that you meant something to somebody else.." As her song went on Kiba lost grasp on the words.. he heard the emotion instead.. he felt his heart clench on every sobbed note. How could he have been so stupid?

"You looko at me through clouded eyes..I know you can see through my lies. See the sky.. see the stars.. All of this could be ours! Out of sight, out of mind.. we've been through this a thousand times! Turn your back? and then you make me feel so crazy! Can't you help me one last time?"

"You know I.. would wait for ever.. Yes.. I would wait. You know I would wait forever! Yes I would wait! And now you wish that you meant something... And now you wish that you meant something to somebody else!" Kiba backed away down the stairs as her sobs took over and she stopped singing.. he would apologize tomorrow.. first thing... he would let her know he cared and that he would be there for her.

Kiba gently closed the door behind him before creeping back towards his room. On the way back he could hear muffled crying, though he wasn't quite sure from where. He sighed, thinking about ignoring it and just heading back to his room. Instead, he found himself walking in different directions until the crying got louder. He stopped right in front of a door, knocking twice before opening it with a creak. Inside was Akio, curled in a ball on his bed, tears streaming down his abnormally pale cheeks.

"Akio.. dude.. are you ok?" Kiba mumbled. Akio looked up with wide eyes, quickly wiping his eyes before nodding.

"Ya.. what are you doing in here?" He asked.

"I was just walking by and I heard someone crying.. what's going on?" Kiba asked.

"Oh it's nothing.. just a really long story.." Akio muttered.

"That's a bit oxymoronic, dude. I can't sleep anyway.. so.. tell away." Kiba grinned, if he couldn't sleep anyway he may as well help someone.

"It's ok.. seriously. I'll live." Akio muttered.

"Just spill dude. I. Am. Here. To. Help." Kiba rolled his eyes. He definitely wasn't good with this whole comfort thing.

"Well... you know that thing in the kitchen.. well.. erm.. Laura said.. god this sounds embarrassing." Akio grumbled.

"Don't worry about it. I won't judge." Kiba said.

"I'm in arranged marriage with Alexander." Akio blurted.

"Ok.. well.. do you like him..?" Kiba asked.

"Well ya.. I did.. we used to be friends." Akio sighed.

"What happened?" Kiba asked in confusion.

"He was my first kiss and well.. my only friend besides his sister.. Aaron. My dad became the mayor because the first mayor was murdered. People blamed us so I didn't really have many friends. When we started going to his village for business he actually talked to me. He even saved me from a bunch of ignorant ass holes.. but later he denied being gay, and started dating one of those ignorant ass holes. He stopped talking to me and Aaron all together." Akio explained, Kiba was tempted to say Aaron and I but pushed the thought away.

"So in other words.. your homophobic bitch of mother is forcing you to marry your in denial bitch of an ex.. ouch.." Kiba frowned.

"Pretty much. I'm sure Laura murdered him too.. she's only with my dad with the money and he's too in love to realize. He stopped talking to me when I brought it up. Especially after Laura told him I was gay.. I hate her fucking guts."

"So that really is why you hate women.. dude.. some of them are decent people you know."

"I know.. but when the whole forest looks rotten from the outside.. you're not exactly inclined to go in there and look for the good trees." Akio sighed, repeating that all too familiar line.

"Maybe you're not looking at the forest from the right angle then... there's not only one forest for sure.. but... sometimes you just have to look harder to find the good trees." Kiba attempted to say something intelligent in response. Akio smirked but didn't say anything.

"But ya.. the mayor was killed upstairs. Laura never even cleaned up the room.. I'm not even sure if the blood is gone.. I've never been in there." Akio shuddered.

"Wait.. but there's only one room upstairs.." Kiba looked wide eyed.

"Ya? That's the room he died in." Akio said, looking confused.

"But Shinobu is staying upstairs.." Kiba muttered, it only took a second before both boys were on their way up the stairs and into Shinobu's room. To their shock, the room was completely clean and Shinobu was sleeping peacefully on the bed.

"Did she clean it all up..?" Akio whispered.

"I don't know.. but let's let her sleep." Kiba said, not taking his eyes off her. Akio turned around before letting out a squeak.

"Kiba! Behind you!" Akio whispered in fear. Kiba turned around, narrowly missing a blade aimed at his head before pushing the guy out of Shinobu's room.

"New punks eh? What happened to the red haired kid and the one with the facepaint. Kids like you are gonna die.. they shouldn't have re-hired." The man grinned.

"No clue who you're talking about but you're wrong." Kiba said punching him in the gut before Akamaru ripped the back of his leg.

"Ow..?" The man grinned, picking Kiba up by the collar and throwing him into a wall with a thud.

"Leave him alone." Shinobu growled.

"Who do you think I am kid?" The man smirked.

"hmm.. If I were to guess I'd say an un-intelligent oaf. But that's just my guess." She smirked before running through taijutsu combos, trying to get the guy near the roof where he'd cause less damage.

"You're gonna pay for that." He growled before kicking her down the stairs.

"Oooow..." She groaned. Kurenai and the rest of team eight running up behind her.

"Are you two alright?" Kurenai asked, quickly running through hand seals before the man crumpled to the ground screaming.

"That.. is scary.. " Kiba winced as he stood up.

"We're fine. Shino." Shinobu growled, getting up and a wall of bugs floated up behind Shino, trapping the woman who was trying to sneak up on him. Kiba quickly used fang over fang, pushing him into Shino's bedroom.

Shinobu could feel bugs flicker across her skin as she fought another, smaller man who had appeared. She would attack and they'd block for her or hold him still. They were conveniant once she had gotten over the whole fear of bugs thing. Kiba wasn't quite so good with the bugs yet but he was trying to not shiver everytime they were near him.

"Hinata!" Shinobu called out, back flipping towards her.

"H-hai!" She cried, barely dodging a hit. The two fought, back to back. Switching occasionally as one of the men were much stronger and they needed breaks. Before they knew it Kurenai caught them both in a genjutsu causing them to instantly pass out.

"Is everyone ok?" She called out and earned several yes's.

"I'll go down stairs and tell my father.." Akio said, in awed shock.

After a couple minutes of checking injuries Kiba and Shinobu ran downstairs to see where Akio was. When they got to the bottom of the stairs they were met with the sight of Akio's father frozen in place with screaming in the background.

"Listen here you little brat. You're going to marry him so that we'll get your inheritence. If you tell your father I'll just let my men kill the both of you instead of just him!" Laura growled

"I won't let you do that!" Akio glared at her.

"Like you'll stop me? When your father is dead I'll be mayor and I'll have the house and all of the money. You'll be married to Alexander so money will go to us." She laughed.

"Don't you know telling ninja your evil plot is bound to get you killed or captured? It's our mission until Akio or his father let us go to make sure he is safe... I can and will kill you." Shinobu growled after brushing past Akio's father to defend him.

"I can dismiss you." Laura smirked.

"Actually you can't. You weren't mentioned in our mission guidelines." Kiba stated. Laura's smirk quickly turned into a scowl.

"You brats won't stop me. Alexander is already set to marry him, his father agreed to it already for the power. Aaron, Alexander and I will stay here.. and he will die." Laura grinned.

"Aaron.. what do you mean?" Akio asked, eyes wide in shock.

"You mean you've never figured it out? Why three foreign people who all speak the same language just pop up at your doorway. Alexander and Aaron are my children." Laura laughed. Akio stood there in frozen shock.

"Get out of my house." Akio's father growled. Finally entering the room.

"W-what? B-but honey!" Laura squeaked.

"Don't honey me.. get the fuck out of my house and never come back!" He shouted.

"Fine.. but listen here Aoi.. you will die.. I will be mayor.. this isn't over!" She screamed before leaving. Alexander and Aaron standing in slight shock.

"Come on! We're leaving!" Laura called back.

"I don't want to go with you.." Aaron mumbled.

"What?" Laura screamed.

"We said even if Akio's father doesn't want us here then we'll just live alone away from you! You've fucked us over enough already." Alexander shouted.

"Fine.. bratty kids anyway." Laura growled. "Ungrateful little.." Her voice faded as she stalked away.

"Dad.." Akio mumbled, temporarily ignoring the two siblings. He walked over to give him a hug but Aoi just brushed him off before adressing Kurenai who had just come down with Shino and hinata.

"You will remain here, paid, and repair the damage you've done.. thank you for protecting my son." He stated with a small bow before disappearing into his office.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry for half-assed comments. I'm beyond tired. I stayed up late so I could re-write this and get out a quick update and I forgot I had to re-write reviews. Don't worry my mood and this story will improve :P**

* * *

><p><strong>Alli ate Sora-Sorry Roxas: <strong>I'm glad you like Akio so much XD and the contortionism. I definitely love it :D

* * *

><p><strong>Linda Ku: <strong>Okay, phew :P Ignorant people are awful. I definitely don't do that when writing yaoi. No matter the gender of a couple you need to build the relationship or it doesn't make sense. Glad you liked it and weren't offended. Tell your brother he has my support and thanks to both of you :D

* * *

><p><strong>DutchyPuppy: <strong>Haha, I definitely don't hate him but he does have a crappy life. Sorry for the delayed chocolate and update. Stupid comp. Btw.. You're dutch?*virtual five for dutch-ness*

* * *

><p><strong>ThePhoenixOfTears: <strong>I feel especially bad with your review because it's so long and I'm being half-assed.. I apologize.. shitty mood + packing + staying up late to re-write entire chapter = bad mood lol. I'm glad you're happy. And OOOH that word XD We'll definitely find out more and I won't neglect mirror. lol.. sulky mood on ur end first time I replied I said "aww that sux, you ok?" now *virtual high five for mutal bad moods* . u got the language thing. Yup laura is the evil step-mom. I'm tempted to do a flash back or side story on her just because of my whole "Everybody has good and bad in them" thing. That was Akio saying that because he wanted to be normal and to team eight him flirting is normal. "He (shinobu) turned out to be a she (because of the genjutsu) who hates me (he thinks that because of the blow up* Haha, right on the dot there. It was sweet and there are ignorant people but it's not as sweet when u see more of the chapter lol. YAY cuteness! XD and ya.. she's definitely not as bad as Fugaku.. maybe? who knows :P I love how you still hate him. lol, u thought the same things about laura and the girlfriend that i did when i wrote this. It will all make more sense in time though. His fatther just doesn't realize. woot for hideous truth :P I don't like that either. It's the reason I'm pro-LGBTQ community and I support all music (exclude devourment) and clothing.. I try to see everything from different peoples view. I'm glad you liked the chapter and I definitely tried to update soon.


	19. Goodbye Graceful

**Keiren-Kun89: ** Though I doubt you'll see this because you said you are dropping the story, I understand where you are coming from and yes there were female ninja in Uchiha. At the point I am in the story now however I wouldn't be able to change that part of the plot without changing my entire story. I personally think it makes sense because Fugaku is very concerned with his and his families image. As stated in the story, after several accusations and issues he was acting odd towards Mikoto as well. *SPOILER ALERT* Her being a female wasn't the real reason she was abandoned anyway and unless you read into my story you will never find that out. Similar has happened in real anime where something isn't as it seems. I use that type of thing in my stories a lot. Thank you for your review.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Alright. Several things to get clear. First, when Kiba was listening to Shinobu sing. All of his comments were NON-ROMANCE. They're twelve. If and when I decided to go into the romantic side of Shinobu's life it will be in Shippuuden area. After Naruto leaves and comes back. A.K.A not for a very very very long time. I still don't quite know how I'm going to do that, probably another poll. Another thing. I am dead set that everyone has good AND bad in them. For this reason I may do a side story or omake of Laura's life. Yes, she's an evil conniving bleepity bleep. But everyone has reasons for doing stuff. :D But ya, when that's up (if it's a side story.) I'll let you know. Seriously though, when I say I plan things out I mean it, every OC has an intricate background even if it's not shown. Also, this is the last mission chapter. I know a lot of you want to know more about the background story but don't worry. I never leave loose ends intentionally and I'm making sure to remember this mission. Enjoy that chappy. ZIIIIING.**

* * *

><p><strong>Song is Goodbye Graceful by Falling in reverse. It's one of their more "scream" songs but I like it. Maybe some of you will. I know it doesn't fit perfectly but I really had no clue what song to use.. it's insane to figure out all these songs XD<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

Shinobu sighed, pacing around her room. She was starting to think she was an insomniac. It was horrible how little sleep she had been getting. They'd been there for another three days since Laura was kicked out and she had to have gotten ten hours of sleep at most. On the brighter side of things, the hallway was almost fixed. Apparently Kiba had caused some damage in one of the bedrooms as well but they were getting it fixed too.

"Maybe I should just finish up now.. Naruto is probably back from his mission by now and wondering where I went.. I can't sleep anyway." She reasoned with herself, quietly opening the door, it used to squeak but she had oiled the hinges after the second night. Whenever she went in there to grab new clothes or supplies the entire hallway could hear her.

She crept down to the hallway and sighed looking at the wall where she had hit. There was a large area of cracked dry wall with bits of fiber glass falling through. Just behind her was a now fairly patched up hole where Kiba had taken the large man through the wall. She realized with slight horror that the hole itself was moving.

"What the.." She whispered, moving closer to see what it was. To her surprise it was hundreds of bugs around the edges of the whole. _So Shino has been repairing it while we slept as well...? _He always seemed to surprise her. She found herself trying to predict what he would do in battle and every day life just to see how much she knew him. She was occasionally getting some things right. But for the most part he shocked her. He was quiet, but not like Hinata. He had pride but wasn't one to put others down to make himself feel better. It was almost as if he was shy.. but he wasn't. He was perfectly fine with talking when he needed to.. he just didn't enjoy talking it seemed. He was one to show his emotions through actions.

Shinobu glanced at her hands for a minute before getting to work. She definitely spent the most hours fixing things around the house. She had taken to fixing things that weren't in the hallway to. Like Akio's father's desk. It had a plank missing causing it to rock when any pressure was put on it. She was starting to get blisters, cuts and scrapes to prove it.

She felt her mind drift off into it's own little world as she worked. Her thoughts straying to memories and her friends. Kurenai had warned her not to do that because although it was good to think about some things and understand them, she tended to block out everything else when she did that. Which, for a ninja, can be fatal. She was just imagining how Naruto's mission went and how he reacted to her being gone when he got home when she jumped at the quiet mumble of words from behind her.

"Shinobu.. what are you doing up?" Kiba groaned, trying to appear sleepy as he talked. He didn't want to let anyone know of his sleep problems either but Shinobu had figured it out. He'd either go take a bath to try and relax or he'd start fixing the damage downstairs or the odd thing around the house where she couldn't see him. She could always sense him though.. when she wasn't in her own little world.

"Hmm..? Oh.. uhm.. couldn't sleep." She sighed, knowing he knew she wasn't sleeping either.

"So you decided to work on this? One of these days you're going to pass out from exhaustion." He laughed, letting his goofy grin take over his features.

"Since when are you so smart? Besides, I'm not the only one." She sighed, rolling her eyes.

"What do you mean..?" He asked, eyes wide. He probably thought she was talking about him.. in a way she was.

"Shino has his bugs working night and day, I've been sneaking out at night, you've been sneaking out at night and Hinata has been forcing herself up early to work on it. Kurenai hasn't realized yet or if she has she wants to see why we're working so hard. But even she's been staying up later than normal to work on it." Shinobu grinned. Kiba looked shocked at first but it quickly morphed into a grin.

"What a team.. I'll help you up here.. I've finished the downstairs and you look like you could use the help." He chuckled. Shinobu laughed.

"You mean there's less work downstairs and you're lonely?" Shinobu grinned. Kiba went to deny it but realized it would do no good and shrugged instead. While denying such things worked with most people he got stuck with the overly understanding people. It was as if they could read eachother like books and while on one hand it was annoying and aggravating it felt kind of nice and safe at the same time. It was like they were a little family. Except they had only know each other this closely for a little while.

So the two worked in silence for a little while, their hands moving in perfect harmony as they fixed the hallway. Both of them drifting off, Akamaru asleep in the corner. While they both appreciated the ninken's help the dog wasn't cut out for 24/7 work. He needed rest and wasn't dealing insomnia like the two of them.

"So.. uhm.. I wanted to apologize.. to you.." Kiba sighed, looking up. Though he had meant to earlier, things had interupted and it was weighing on his shoulder's and in the back of his head.

"About what?" Shinobu asked curiously, careful not to pry. Kiba wasn't one to apologize for anything serious with words. You could just tell he was sorry through actions. She couldn't even think of anything he had done recently.

"Well.. after I found out you were a girl.. I kinda treated you differently.. and I'm sorry for that. You're my friend and gender shouldn't effect that.. so..sorry. I'm here for you. You're still a bro to me even if you aren't well a dude." He grinned sheepishly and Shinobu smiled letting out a laugh of her own.

"I knew that already, Kiba. But apology accepted none the less." She grinned and Kiba looked slightly confused but laughed.

"So.. on the random-er side of things.. have you talked to Alexander or Akio recently?" Kiba asked, sucking his thumb after he cut it. Shinobu laughed imagining him in a bonnet but said nothing.

"Not really.. besides the first day we got here and the blow up. I don't know what's up with those two but it seems to be a long history. Alexander mentioned them being best friends and then there's the arranged marriage so my guess is that Akio liked Alexander but got rejected or betrayed somehow. Alexander on the other hand still likes Akio but doesn't know how to prove himself." Shinobu guessed half heartedly while rubbing her aching arm. Kiba stood slightly wide eyed but quickly shook out of it.

"Ya.. maybe." He mumbled. They spent the rest of the night working in silence.

* * *

><p>Shinobu groaned, sitting on the couch downstairs, rubbing her shoulders. It felt like the growing pains she got now and again.<p>

"Are you alright?" Kurenai asked, noticing the aching. Kiba, Hinata and Shinobu all looked tired and had aches while Shino seemed to be abnormally low on chakra.

"Ya.. just.. aches.." She sighed.

"Kiba... Shinobu? Can you two escort Akio downtown? He needs to go shopping." Aoi asked and the both glanced at each other before nodding. "Thank you." He smiled slightly before disappearing into his study.

"When do you want to leave Akio?" Shinobu asked, leaning her chin on her palm.

"Whenever.. preferably sooner.. it's safer during the day.. not by much.. but it is." He mumbled.

"Ok.. let's go now then." Kiba said, standing up. "Not that we couldn't protect you after dark." Kiba grinned, his arrogence knew no bounds sometimes, or so Shinobu thought.

"Ok.. just let me go grab some money." Akio said before disappearing. Shinobu tightened her shuriken holster as she waited.

The trio walked down town earning glares and looks of curiousity. Shinobu sighed letting her hair cover her eyes. She hated those eyes.. those eyes who brought down your self-esteem.. your self-worth. She hated it when they were aimed at her but it was somehow worse when they were aimed at someone else and she knew it wasn't his fault.

"Dude.. should I be hitting any of these people?" Kiba asked with a light smirk. Akio grinned but shook his head.

"I'm used to it, don't worry." He said.

"Stupid ignorant people." Shinobu grumbled, shooting a few death glares right back at them. No one kept looking after catching her eye, if she was glad of anything she recieved from her family it was the famous death glare. She never used it much but it didn't take much for her to master. Especially once she got fan girls.. unfortunately it never really worked with them.

"It's just because they don't realize what actually happened.. they're looking for someone to blame to feel safer." Akio explained. Entering one story and starting to pick up fruits and some fish. The woman running the story looked like she was going to curse at Akio and kick him out but thought better of it when she saw Shinobu and Kiba, though small the village knew ninja's when they saw them. Shinobu wondered what the last escorts were like.. to cause such a fearful reaction out of the villagers.

"That's still no excuse.." Shinobu muttered under her breath.

"They just want justice.. they're scared." Akio reasoned, why he defended them she would never understand. Guess it came with being the mayor's son.. an unconditional love for the village and it's people.

"Scared? So they attack the people keeping order and keeping the village sade? Freaking cry babies if you ask me." Kiba scowled and Akio just laughed.

When Akio had everything they would need for dinner the group headed back, Shinobu tried paying him for her team's share of the food but Akio refused no matter how many times she asked. Shinobu had given up, deciding she would just slip the money into his bedroom before they left. On the way back they received a few glares but not nearly asa many as before.

"Get the hell out of our city you monster." A teenage girl growled as she passed.

"Shut the fuck up you ignorant bitch. You don't know him." Kiba shouted back. She looked slightly taken aback but quickly resumed glaring before stalking off.

"I'm sorry about her Akio-san.. I don't understand how some people can be like that.. it wasn't you or your father.. right?" A little girl smiled, handing Akio a smile and his look of shock told Shinobu how often he received kindness from these people.

"N-no.. we didn't do it.." He mumbled. "Thank you."

"No problem Akio-san! Please take care of my home.. even if it's villagers can be a little cruel." She frowned slightly before hugging his waist and running off.

"That was sweet.." Kiba grinned. Shinobu smiled.. there were definitely some nice people out there.

"A sakura tree in the making." Akio whispered under his breath. Both of the ninja heard but neither of them said anything. Akio's smile didn't leave his face for the rest of the trip home.

"How was your trip? Did you get everything you needed?" Kurenai asked as the group walked through the door. Akio nodded, heading straight for the kitchen to put away the food he had bought.

"I'll be right back." Shinobu whispered, running upstairs to put her share of the money under Akio's pillow. He'd find it eventually. When she got back downstairs Kurenai was talking to the rest of team eight.

"Oh good, now we can go over this as a group." Kurenai smiled as Shinobu sat down. "I've watched you guys progress rather quickly and I think it's about time to get Anko training you. The reason our group alone will be doing this training is because we are the sole group with an even amount of people. Normally when Shinobi wants to learn this they wait until they're out of genin teams. It's two person taijutsu. It's complimentary of styles and if you each learn with each person no matter who gets seperated when if you have one of you then you're set for close range combat. I'm going to start the beginning training so that when Anko gets you she can work on technique instead of making sure you're capable." Kurenai explained.

"Yes! We're going to be so strong!" Kiba grinned. Shino on the other hand looked out of place and nervous. Taijutsu wasn't really his thing.

"We're going to up your skills and take into account your skill levels. I've also talked to anko a bit about adjusting it for your specialties, like your families fighting style." Kurenai reassured them.

"This isn't something we expect you to grasp right away because it's normally older more experienced ninja's learning this. But then again, normally the teams of two have to learn most of it on their own. Anko and I will be helping you the entire time."

"How is taijutsu a collaboration attack..?" Shinobu asked slightly confused.

"It's a series of intertwining attacks. Partner's tend to become very in synch and they need to trust each other. If you don't have faith in each other you're likely to fail." Kurenai stated.

"So we're kinda like becoming the same person?" Kiba asked, scratching his head.

"No.. not at all. In fact quite the opposite. This style is to compliment your own personal style. Instead of becoming one person you will help each other and compliment each other to complete each other. Partners succeed best when they have a grasp on teamwork as well as individuality which I believe you all have." Kurenai smiled.

"So.. what do we need to start on?" Shino asked.

"Strength.. some of the stronger moves need you to be able to catch your partners weight if it comes flying at you. Possibly with one arm. If we go to the roof we can get started.

"Can I watch?" Akio asked, now back in the room.

"Yes, just be careful to stay out of the way." Kurenai nodded and the group made there way up to the roof.

"To start things off I want one hundred push ups from all of you.. at the very least I want you to be able to support your own weight. You'll be doing this everyday from now on." Kurenai explained, she felt slightly bad but knew that they could handle it. She and Akio watched as the team did them, taking note of the difference in strength. While Kiba and Shinobu didn't seem to have a problem with it Hinata and Shino struggled a bit more.

When they finished Kurenai pulled out a scroll and bit her thumb pulling a large series of metal bars from the scroll and quickly setting them up. It looked like a child's monkey bar set just a bit taller.

"You will each receive one of these scrolls today for training. Your legs should be fairly muscular because of the tree climbing and jumping training we did so we're going to focus on torso, abdominal muscles and arm strength. I want each of you to do one hundred hanging sit ups, one hundred chin ups and then we'll start working on precision." Kurenai smiled at her team's determination. Akio started running sometime through the training to get towels and water bottles. He eventually had to get band aids and alcoholic cleanser once they started fighting each other. The entire group getting cuts and bruises. Hinata, Shino and Kiba took turns fighting each other and occasionally Shinobu. Shinobu spent most of her time fighting Kurenai since her taijutsu level was higher, it being her specialty.

"Why aren't you wearing your gloves?" Akio asked as the team took a break, grateful for the water.

"I was actually meaning to give them back.. I figured you wouldn't want me wearing them." Shinobu admitted.

"No, I want you to wear them. You're my friend, it's like a souvenir from your first mission." Akio smiled as Shinobu pulled them out of her pocket and put them on, tightening the straps and flexing her fingers.

"Thanks." She grinned, earning a slight nod. She found it easier to do things like push ups and chin ups with the gloves because it didn't hurt her hands as much. Though she had calluses the leather gloves helped her a lot.

Shinobu barely noticed Alexander appear on the rooftop as she dodged a hit from Kurenai jumping back onto her hand and swiveling, barely connecting her foot into Kurenai's shoulder. She obviously wasn't giving it her all but Shinobu was proud that she managed to hit her.

"Alright.. we should break for today. We'll be leaving first thing in the morning so get some rest. Aoi-san informed me that the usual ninja will be returning to cover for us. He's reported Laura so things should be fine here." She explained and for some reason this made Shinobu sad. She couldn't understand.. because her first mission was over.. because she liked it here? Or because she had unintentionally found precious people here and she didn't want to say good bye. She knew she had to leave and get stronger to protect her people back home.. but.. would she ever see them again?

"Hai.." Hinata mumbled, the rest of her team immediately heading down to their bedrooms, obviously exhausted. Kurenai waved to Shinobu before heading down as well.

"Hey, Shinobu... why do you train as a guy if everyone here knows you're a girl?" Akio asked, tilting his head slightly. Beside him Alexander's eyes widened.

"Because it's easier and I'm more used to it." Shinobu explained, about to say more when Alexander started yelling.

"Wait? You're a fucking girl? So are you straight and a liar or did she just try to piss me off?" He shouted.

"I'm the liar? You're the one who.. wanna know what? Never mind. Shut the fuck up and keep your nose away from my business. It's a wonder my dad even let you stay." Akio growled before storming downstairs.

"What happened between you two..?" Shinobu asked after a moment's silence.

"Why the fuck do you care?" Alexander growled but he looked more hurt than anything.

"Because that's they kind of person I am.. I'm not mad about earlier by the way." Shinobu smiled honestly.

"Sorry about that... and you really wanna know." He asked, looking confused.

"Ya.. I do." Shinobu smiled.

"I knew about my mother.. she told me to get in close with Akio.. so we could stop living on the streets. I complied.. but I realized I liked him.. everything between us.. was real. We quickly became friends and I was always looking forward to him coming for a visit. Eventually, once my mother felt she was close enough with Akio's dad, offered for Aaron to stay with us. She was already close to Akio and was more than happy to defend him.. she wasnted to be there for him when our mother was mean. It was lonely.. but at least I knew she had a roof over her head. By then I was completely dependent on Akio's visits.. but I pretended I didn't care. I kissed him because I wanted to on the bridge.. I don't know if he told you about that.. it didn't take me long to realize I was gay.. but nobody guessed because I never act gay. Akio grew that second skin too.. not many people guess. He still gets shit though because of my mother.. she killed the mayor.. so that Akio's father would be mayor and she would get more money to send me and take care of me. I realized that she was planning on killing them.. after an arranged marriage with me. So I pretended I was straight.. even went to the liberty of getting to know the skank who made fun of him.. so he wouldn't agree to the marriage. I was planning on breaking all of the ties.. so he wouldn't get hurt.. he stopped talking to me after that and I got all my updates from Aaron who'm he was still close with.. but now that I'm back and Laura's out of the picture I haven't gotten the chance to explain myself. I'm in love with the person who hates my guts more than anything in the world." Alexander finished, staring into his hands. Shinobu couldn't help but feel bad for him.

"Why don't you tell him? Go right now and explain everything!" Shinobu encouraged.

"It's not time.. I'm not ready and he's not ready to listen." Alexander sighed.

"What do you mean..? That doesn't make sense."

"If I try telling him now it will be like pouring alcohol on an open wound.. it will just hurt him.. I want to wait until that wound has healed.. then I'm simple cleansing the scar." Alexander explained.

"Yes.. but even if alcohol burns an open wound it cleans it and prevents infection.." Shinobu reasoned.

"I will tell him.. when the time is right. It's just not time yet." He finished. "Now you should get some sleep.. you have a long trip ahead of you." He said.

"Alright.. good night.." Shinobu mumbled before disappearing down the stairs.

* * *

><p>"Thank you for your work here. Here is your payment, please give your hokage our regards." Aoi nodded to the team.<p>

"Thank you.." Kurenai smiled, shaking his hand before turning to leave.

"Hopefully we'll see you again sometime?" Aaron asked with a small smile.

"**Oui**, I really hope so." Shinobu grinned. "Good luck with Akio.. you can do it." She whispered to Alexander while Akio said his goodbyes to Kiba.

"Don't forget about me now!" Akio smirked.

"Your gloves are a permanent part of my gear. I don't think it's possible anyway." Shinobu grinned, waving on last time before following her team.

"Shinobu.. are you crying?" Kiba asked incredulously.

"N-no.. just got something in my eye.. I'm no wimp."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Okey Dokey. So I'd like to start off by saying I hope you enjoyed this. Secondly, please excuse any spelling, I was writing this during a horrible storm (Tornado alert very close to where I live) so my mind was a little freaked out never mind the power flickers. :D weeee. P.S special thanks to everyone, I got 1.16K views in one day when I updated this. I FEEL LOVED XD**

* * *

><p><strong>Note to review comments: I always write them BEFORE I write the chapter featured above. So if I make a funny comment that doesn't make sense because I explained something in the chapter but then hid it in a review comment that's why ;D<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Alli ate Sora-Sorry Roxas: <strong>Yay! You're in aaww. I definitely love the song, though it's not one of my favourite's by that band. I'm a die hard Escape the fate fan :P Glass case of emotion? For some odd reason that reminds me of drowning O.o thanks for the review :D

* * *

><p><strong>XxInuzukaxX: (Chapter 1) <strong>I'm glad you find it believable and that I managed to get the emotion across :D thank you for reading and reviewing XD

* * *

><p><strong>Linda Ku: <strong>Yup! Sorry about the confusion, also for a question, has your brother been reading this entire time? I feel so bad for not acknowledging him. Gomennesai nii-san :P Haha, mom's do tend to know a lot XDSorry about it being short. Some chapters do that on me :/ Then again other chapters I can't stop writing so I have to split them XD Hurm... *is debating answering that question* It would be spoilerific depending on my answer. Since it's hinted at in the above chapter *I think I answered this before I wrote this chapter lol* yes Alexander does. I doubt people will hate him so much once his reasoning is explained. :D Thank you and your brother for the review / read. (not quite sure how to thank now but I thank you both for reading at least XD)

* * *

><p><strong>DutchyPuppy: <strong>Ya.. you'd think I would notice from the name but I wasn't sure :P I was just shocked when I saw the dutch in the review I was like "Da fuuuudge O.o? Herp." lol. Lol at the randomness! I'm glad you liked it and thanks for the review. I updated soon xD

* * *

><p><strong>ThePheonixOfTears: <strong>Yup, I updated.. and yes.. it sucked.. and ya :P I had a lot planned. It was awful. I managed to get most of the songs by going through the reviews and old PMS (i got permission to temporarily enable it to find the information I needed) Ya.. definite bad day. I'm great today though XD I will do the Laura thing though it may take a while. I've read all the manga so it's no big spoiler lol. *copies and pastes part of that paragraph in future planning* believe it or not I do that a lot XD because your reviews give me ideas XD Well.. she actually had painful exprience and wasn't consumed by hate and greed but desire to protect and love and it was taken beyond her control consuming her. I honestly think you may forgive Fugaku :P in the future. L(esbian)G(ay)B(i-sexual)T(ransgender/transsexual)Q(uestioning). The POV comment confused me O.o Big intro? Giant review! lol :P thanks btw. ha- dislike? Ya :P Well see.. that's how Akio see's it.. but remember. Alexander never explained his reasoning ;D Haha, Alex was definitely jealous. And Kiba isn't good with that kind of thing. Taking his background into account, he grew up with a very tough mom. The kind that would be "Suck it up and put on a smile" When you scrape your knees, but still loves you and makes it clear in her own way. So I don't think he would comfort her. I think he would know she needs space and he knows her well. He knows it's better to apologize in the morning. He doesn't know Akio so well, therefore making it less uncomfortable. He can listen without judgement and he can't sleep anyway. Plus Shinobu makes him nervous. He doesn't want to los a friend. Haha Very flirtatious all the time XD and I have know clue on the spelling XD O.o... I see lots of "wow's" LOL. Yes. She killed the mayor. And yes ;) it is them. Our first bit of Gaara and Kankuro :P Believe it or not it wasn't her doing. But the guy in the forest was. (not that I'm going to reveal that other than in the side story. She is :P and no. her men where the ones on the journey lol. She is trying to get all the money. Note in the flash backs that Aaron and Alexander lived in a shack away from Laura. Aaron took over the mother figure while Laura was gone. Lmfao XD No commet LOL. The no hug is because of multiple things. He found out the truth about the supposed love of his live, he feels guilty, he isn't sure how to deal with Akio being gay and he just got over the shock of realizing he would have died if he hadn't heard that. Haha, thanks :D and no romance any time soon. I'm not up for 12 year old romances. Anything involving romance is older. 16-ish. If they're at 12 it's just friendship until later :P No need to apologize. Bruno mars fan? Lol, I'll check them out. He's not really my style of music but he does have emotional songs and an amazing voice :P Haha, I updated XD Laura may take a while though. Too much on the plate. I am moving in less than a week, school is starting, dance is starting and I have two neglected stories. I'm considering putting one on hiatus. I dislike slow updates :/ lol. I'm known for fast updating XD


	20. Human

**The song is human by skye sweetnam. I chose this because of the main line "We're only human seperated by our thoughts" a lot of the Hyuuga's and Uchiha's are compared to each other and similar but each person is different. Hanabi and Hinata grew up in the same circumstance yet Hanabi is rude, determined and cold while Hinata is shy, nervous and polite.**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I know most of you have probably noticed my updates aren't as daily any more. It's because of moving. My guess is that once school starts I'll update maybe twice a week? I hate monthly updates so I'll try to do my best XD ...So we've hit 20! Wow. In canon around episodes we are in about the same spot in chapters. Guess what that means? DUN DUN DUN DUN! It meaaans... The Chunin exams are coming up! Hopefully I don't disappoint, so without further a.. *forgets rest of saying* The chapter! :D**

* * *

><p><strong>I lied ^.^... there's more. Last chapter I mentioned a side story about Laura? I posted it's first chapter.. (not really a chapter.. it's short) yesterday and it's on my profile so if you were interested in her character go read about her life! :D NOW.. enjoy :D<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

"I'm proud of you all. You've improved in speed and endurance.. when I got you it might have taken three and a half days to make that trip and we just made it in two and a half." Kurenai smiled.

"Haha, that's because we're always training. We're going to have the strongest team in Konoha." Kiba exclaimed and Kurenai grinned along with the rest of the team. Their teamwork never had many faults but it had still managed to improve. Kiba had recently switched from claiming how strong he was going to get as an individual to how strong they were going to get as a team.

"Y-ya!" Hinata smiled, giggling as Akamaru pounced on her. Shinobu tried to hold her smile but it wouldn't last.. she couldn't help but feel like she wasn't getting strong enough.. it was her first big mission and she'd done well.. but she also messed up a lot, broke the rule of letting emotions through on a mission and was now severely lacking sleep. No doubt Sasuke was doing better than her.

"Sh-" Kiba started.

"I'm fine." She quickly cut him off, not wanting the pity party.

"Ok.. sorry." He sighed.

"Alright.. well we should go report this to Hokage-sama.. then we can start your training with Anko." Kurenai smiled half-heartedly. Secretly hoping Kakashi was having a better time with his Uchiha.. there was a long line of missing-nin from their clan and though she believed Shinobu would do that, she was noticing a quick decline in her mental health.

The group walked in silence, making it's way towards the Hokage's tower, Shinobu wondering if Naruto was at home waiting for her. The chunin guarding the doors smiled and waved them in and it wasn't long before they were standing in silence in front of the Hokage as he read the papers.

"Seems like it may have been a bit higher than intended.. good job. You should be free of missions for a short while.. may I speak with you at 20:00 Kurenai?" He asked while filing the papers away.

"Yes, sir." She bowed before leading the team out. Shinobu personally thought they should be given time to rest before training but it was probably Anko's idea to do other wise. For some reason Kurenai seemed to comply with whatever the woman wanted. Shinobu meant to look into it but never really had time.

Shinobu grinned as the team passed team Kakashi. The team looked worn out but Naruto grinned and Waved. Sakura rolled her eyes and looked away, her rivalry with Ino always stopped any friendship there. Sasuke let out a small curious glare. Kakashi had his nose in his book so she didn't catch his eye. As they were walking away she could hear the Hokage talking and her eyes widened.

"They had a jonin mission? That's so not fair!" Kiba complained, even Kurenai looked shocked.

"Ya.. let's just be thankful they lived.. we had the better mission anyway.. we didn't see anyone die." Shinobu mumbled.

"Aaah! You're back! I can't wait to get started on this!" Anko shouted, giving a grin that resembled the Chesire cat once they reached the training grounds.

"Don't rush them too much. They only started the strength training a couple days ago." Kurenai sighed, worried for her team.

"Oh, they'll be fine. I don't think they'll be pansies, they're all from great clans after all. Hyuuga, Uchiha, Inuzuka, Aburame. You've got the power-house team. I'm simply making a partnered Ino-Shika-Cho dynamic for them." Anko grinned, fiddling with a dango stick in her mouth.

"Just be careful.." Kurenai sighed.

"Ya ya.. just be quiet while I lead things here. They'll have it down in no time, maggots or no maggots." She laughed. Kurenai rolled her eyes but said nothing.

"So to start off with I need to know whether Shinobu intends on learning this as a boy or a girl, it makes a difference due to weight." Anko asked, pacing in front of the nervous genin.

"Whatever makes me stronger." Shinobu muttered, wishing they could start training, just because she thought they should be given time off didn't mean she wouldn't take advantage of the new higher up. She had planned on training at home anyway.

"I think you should learn most of it as a girl, but we'll teach you some of the boys technique so that you can pair with them if need be. Happy, maggot?" She grinned. Shinobu nodded, knowing it would be hard work but she didn't really care.

"I think the primary teams will be Kiba with Shino and Shinobu with Hinata. Simply because the eye jutsu's will do wonders in your pairing and both of you boys can create clones. You need to work on fleas with Akamaru though." Anko chuckled.

"I've been training them.. they won't attack Akamaru, they recognize his chakra." Shino explained quietly earning an approving nod from Anko. "Shinobu will learn to partner with all of you so that her place on the team is validated. She is the only non-tracker on this team. Hinata, you will learn mostly with Shinobu but your side partner will be Shino. Kiba, your main partner will be Shino, your side partner will be Shinobu. Shino and Shinobu, you will learn with everyone." Anko explained.

"You're telling us all of this.. but you're not telling us what we're learning." Shinobu sighed.

"You will fight as one unit.. almost as one body but in reality you will just become so in synch that you will appear as one super fighter. You will train with your main partner the most because once you know each other perfectly, your taijutsu is one of your greatest weapons. Then you will work with side partners, your side partner will not be as good but it will be better than normal pair taijutsu." Anko explained. "Eventually, you'll end up combining jutsu.. this will come more into play later on though so I can explain that once you've gotten the taijutsu part."

Shinobu's mind was reeling along with the rest of team eight. _A partner.. combining jutsu? How could she possibly combine Sharingan and Byakuugan.. it didn't sound possible.. if it was.. it would be the ultimate eye technique. _She stole a glance towards Hinata who looked equally nervous with the whole idea.. she was probably afraid of letting Shinobu down.. but they already knew each other well.

"Hinata.. don't worry about it.. you won't let me down.. we'll simply make each other stronger." Shinobu smiled, trying to reassure her.

"T-thank you.. I'll try my best." Hinata smiled, shakily, in return.

"Haha, we'll." Shinobu grinned. Kiba grinned as well. They were the confident people on the team. Shino was confident. but not out loud. Kiba and Shinobu were the ones to raise spirits.

"So.. how do we start.. getting in synch that is." Shino asked curiously.

"Simply, every moment you will be making for the next week must match your partners. You aren't allowed to move unless they do. You will do your strength training together and you will stay with each other.. I know this may cause problems but I have talked to Hiashi and he is fine with having Shinobu stay with you temporarily provided she takes a sworn seal not to try anything or something like that." Anko smiled.

"Fine with me." Shinobu grinned, making eye contact before moving her foot and watching Hinata quickly following. Watching each others movements. It looked silly, like a dance with one person a beat behind at all times. It was a lot harder than it sounded.

"Oi, no doing that maggotts!" Anko laughed at Kiba and Shino. When Hinata and Shinobu turned around they saw bugs retracting from Kiba's shoes. It looked like Shino had tried to keep them in synch with the bugs walking for Kiba.

"Why not?" Kiba asked, not really understanding.

"Because then it won't be him bonding and being in synch with you, it will be his bugs." Kurenai explained, pulling out the poles and setting them up for when the team got to that point. She knew this training was odd, eventually everything went in synch, your thoughts.. your breathing. At one point when she trained with Asuma they started waking up at the same time and having nightmares at the same time. It was odd. You had to trust your partner with your deepest secrets and thoughts or it wouldn't work. That part worried her. Shinobu had some dark thoughts though Kurenai believed she could do it with any of the other three on the team. Kiba and Shino seemed like an odd pair.. she was praying they began to trust each other more. She personally would have picked Shino and Hinata then Kiba and Shinobu.. but Anko must have had her reasons.

She watched with a small proud smile as Shinobu and Hinata counted the number of sit-ups they were on, trying to say it at the same time. Kiba and Shino quickly joined in and all four were doing sit ups and counting at the same time. It almost looked like someone placed a mirror on each side of one of them. She was thankful.. she hadn't gotten overly cold guys or guy obsessed girls. Just four young kids who had their hearts set on proving themselves and protecting their villages.

* * *

><p>When the group finished their training for the day they lay sprawled in the grass, enjoying the feel of letting their muscles rest. Shinobu's whole body ached.. but she knew it was a good ache.<p>

"So I've informed Hiashi that you'll be joining them today. For you two your two weeks will be in the Hyuuga compound. For Shino and Kiba, I've talked to both of your families and while Tsumi swore some horrible things if any of the dogs got fleas they agreed. You will spend the first week with the Inuzuka's. The second will be in the Aburame compound. They all nodded as they were dismissed before attempting to wave at the same time and walking off in different directions.

"So.. Hinata.. what's the Hyuuga compound like?" Shinobu asked, oddly excited.. she had never stayed with a family before.. they were all family.

"T-they're strict and very protective. It f-feels divided.." She whispered honestly.

"That must be tough.. but isn't it good enough to have family?" Shinobu asked.. she wasn't trying to be rude.. but she wanted to know. She'd never had a family besides Naruto so she didn't know. Thankfully Hinata realized this.

"Well.. I am v-very thankful to have them.. but most of t-the time they d-don't feel like family.. they either treat me like a queen because they're branch members.. or they treat me like diry.." Hinata whispered.. slightly shocked at her own lack of stuttering.

"I guess that does make sense.. hopefully your stuttering will end when you're not nervous around me anymore." Shinobu smiled. Hinata couldn't help but smile back, Shinobu felt like a friend.. she wasn't nearly as nervous about failing or being judged or not being good enough around her.. but she didn't want to fail her as a partner.. they would both do their absolute best.

Shinobu smiled, letting Hinata in. It was fairly clean since they had both been gone. There was random noises coming from down the hall but it didn't bother her. Hinata on the other hand looked horrified.

"W-what is that?" She squeaked.

"Just Naruto, he just got back today too. He's probably unpacking and getting ready to go eat and train." Shinobu grinned, leading the way to her room which was thankfully clean. She quickly unpacked and repacked for the time she'd be in the Hyuuga compound. She made sure to keep all of her clothing appropriate. She made sure to get all of her training weapons and leave anything seriously dangerous behind. She didn't want to appear as a threat.. not that she was much of one.

"S-shinobu? C-can I ask something?" Hinata mumbled quietly.

"You just did." Shinobu grinned, but nodded for her to ask anyway. Hinata giggled and was about to speak when the door burst open.

"Shinobu-chan! We're out of ramen!" Naruto pouted, not noticing Hinata, who was turning bright red. Shinobu grinned sheepishly at the scene.

"Well, you're going to have to do the grocery run this time. I have a training mission. I'm staying at the Hyuuga compound for the next two weeks.. Sorry Naru." Shinobu sighed, lifting the bag. She hadn't spent any time with him recently and honestly she missed him. She felt all of her bad thoughts disappear when he was in the room. His warmth melted them away. He had that effect on everyone. She never did understand how people didn't like him.

"Oh.. that sucks.. well good lu- hey! Hinata-chan! What are you doing here?" He asked, noticing her standing to the side in horror. "Are you alright.. you look like you may have gotten sick or something." He quickly ran out of the room before running back with a stuffed animal. "Here Hinata! It's stuffed dog and it double taskes as a hot water bottle. It helps when you're sick. Shinobu can show you how to use it.. hey.. does she know yet Shinobu?" Naruto asked, rambling on as Hinata stared at the dog in her hands, not moving an inch.

"Ya. My entire team knows now. So it's Kurenai, the Hokage, most of the jounin, you, Kiba, Akamaru, Shino and Hinata." Shinobu smiled listing them off, it was starting to become quite a long list.

"So Shikamaru and Choji don't know yet?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope. I haven't talked to them really. Not recently anyway." Shinobu explained. "Anyway, money is in my dresser if you need it. I'll see you later!" She smiled, dragging Hinata behind her.

"You like Naruto?" She finally squealed once they were far enough away.

"W-well. I-i-i-i-i.. u-um.." Hinata stuttered, still in a daze with the dog in her hands.

"That's adorable.. he's kind of oblivious though.. you should really tell him. I can for you if you want." Shinobu grinned, temporarily forgetting all of her issues.

"N-no!" Hinata quickly protested.

"Alright alright.. I'll leave it be for now.. but you're my first female friend you know. I'm gonna end up setting you up eventually." Shinobu smirked and Hinata looked like she was about to faint.

"I sense the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Shinobu sighed in a dramatic tone, mocking how Ino talked when Shinobu had heard her talking about Sasuke or herself. Hinata smiled shakily, obviously not used to this kind of thing.

When they reached the compound they were greeted by two older women who bowed to Hinata and Shinobu. Shinobu wasn't sure how this all worked so she bowed back to be polite. Both of the women broke out in smiles.

"We have to meet with father first, then I'll show you where we'll be staying." Hinata whispered, losing her stutter for a brief moment. Shinobu nodded following her. She soon found herself in a yard where she watched a young girl go flying into a wooden beam, an older man standing there as if nothing had happened.

"Father.. I'm back." Hinata announced. The man looked over and nodded before making his way over to the younger girl.

"We will break. Go rest." He stated, the girl looked ready to protest but simply glared at Hinata before storming off.

"Father.. t-this is Shinobu. We'll be training f-for two weeks.. A-anko-sensei told you?" Hinata confirmed, trying her best not to avert her eyes. Hiashi meanwhile was glaring at Shinobu.

"Hyuuga-sama. Thank you for allowing me to stay. I will try my best not to be a hindrance." Shinobu stated with a straight face, bowing and focusing really hard to keep her posture up.

"Yes.. I was informed your teammate would be coming to stay with us. I was unaware that it would be male.. I've changed my mind.. you will not be doing this." Hiashi growled at Shinobu.

"S-sir.. I am a girl." Shinobu stumbled. She was so used to using the genjutsu that she was almost uncomfortable walking around as a girl.. it made her self-conscious.

"Excuse me? Do you think I'm unintelligent?" Hiashi asked, eyebrow raised.

"No sir.. I am using a genjutsu.. I forgot to take it off because I'm so used to using it, sir." She explained dropping the genjutsu. She was wearing a simple kimono. She thought it would be more appropriate. Hiashi activated his byakuugan before quickly nodding.

"I apologize then.. you will stay in Hinata's room... I really don't see the point of this though.. I apologize in advanced if she slows you down." Hiashi nodded slightly in acknowledgement before going to move away.

"S-sir.. if you don't mind me saying. Hinata is a very strong girl. I believe she will help strengthen me as I will her." Shinobu said, her confidence was wavoring slightly but she couldn't allow herself to say nothing.

"You may be in her team.. but I am her father and this is my roof. Do not speak back unless you wish to be escorted out. You are to be treated as a branch member while you are here." Hiashi stated before disappearing. Shinobu sighed.

"Sorry Hinata-chan.. that was uncalled for on both ends.. I'm sure you'll do great." Shinobu smiled half-heartedly.

"I-it's a-alr-right." Hinata smiled. Her stuttering coming back full force.. it was no wonder she never broke the habit. By the time they had reached her room they had received several bows and waves. Shinobu found it unnerving. Inside her room there was a small dresser with a mirror attached to the top. On the side was a neatly folded white robe. There were two beds set up and a small lamp in the corner. The room itself was really plain.. but the view from the window showed forestry and a small pond.. it was beautiful.

"So.. here's the beginning of training.." Shinobu sighed, sitting at the same time as Hinata. They had agreed to start bowing together along with everything else from now on but they had excluded bowing earlier because Shinobu didn't want to accidently insult Hiashi.

"Y-ya.. hopefully it will go well." Hinata smiled.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So most of you have probably noticed the slower updates. I am two days away from my moving date and my fingers are bleeding from learning Guitar. I am spending a lot of time writing lyrics as well.. I want to be a performer.. an inspiration to others. I want to help others through hard times with my music and I want others to recognize me.. that is my goal in life. That and to take care of my family.. it has me torn because I am taking medical science but I know once I hit university I will either be crazy busy and insanely in debt or I'll need to drop one or the other. Music reaches the most people and I would die to be in a band and get popular enough to be heard, specifically by one person I wish to get a message to. I do art in all forms but music and dance always takes the front seat. I know I won't make a life out of writing and drawing and even though it's a loved hobby it needs to be put to the side sometimes. Lucky for people who seem addicted to this story I am a great juggler and seem to manage once or twice a week at least anyway. So enough about my life and on to your reviews :D**

* * *

><p><strong>namine23: <strong>Yay :'D thank you XD and new reviewer! Yes!Yes. I'm a fan of Falling in Reverse. Ronnie Radke is so inspirational to me. I want to perform like that one day XDD I'm an artist in all terms of the word :P I'm a vocalist, a keyboard player, flute player, I draw manga / anime, I write stories, I do contortion and I dance. I am just getting into lyric writing.. the only issues is I'm terrified to give up school for art. I'm on my way to getting into med school is it's like.. ugh.. I hope I can juggle both.. that and find a band XD Oh boy.. with all the Craig Mabbitt Ronnie Radke fighting going on between fans STILL I'm almost afraid to answer that question XD I do, I like Escape the fate now and then. They managed to make some pretty good songs "Ten miles wide, the flood, The guillotine (2)" and Ronnie himself wished the best to them even if his album is a lyrical thumbs up. They're friends now.. so ya. Like 'em both :D Along with black veil brides and fall out boy. lol XD wow I just talked a lot about myself.. sorry about that :D Thanks for the review XD loool. Do you like both?

* * *

><p><strong>XxInuzukaxX: (chapter six): <strong>Woot :D Signed in. I'm glad you liked it and haha, that's what I thought. Thanks for the review.

**(chapter eight): **I feel successful XD I made someone smile. Yay. I like cute moments, sadly I'm not too good with them.

* * *

><p><strong>Alli ate Sora-Sorry Roxas: <strong>No, drowning is most definately not healthy :P Yush, emotions O.o *thinks of weird saying* "You're always sitting in a bottle of emotions.. if you never let any of them out, you're sure to drown" LOL made that up on the top of my head.. I may end up using that.. O.O I'm glad you like my OC's background.. I figure every character is a person and every person has lived a life. It's harder to write someone's character when you know nothing about them so I quickly learn little facts. Like the fact Laura hates pizza because when she moved to the konoha area all she had was frozen pizza. XD

* * *

><p><strong>DutchyPuppy: <strong>Haha, awesome new adventure! omg LOL flying penguins XD Ya.. :/ Akio was awesome. We won't forget him. XD Thank you for your review.

* * *

><p><strong>DialACow: (Chapter 1): <strong>I can easily imagining Fugaku doing such a thing, unfortunately not everyone agrees. But everyone has their own opinion and I can respect that. She wasn't completely alone, her mother was with her for a time. She also had Ayame and Tseuchi but some children at such an age do live on their own in different places so I find this sad but believable :P Thank you so much for your review :D I'm glad you've continued reading and enjoy it :D

**(Chapter 14): **I know the language was a little weird but I wanted to make sure that the barrier was for the readers as well as the characters, unless you're like Hinata and speak both. By the time you read this you'll have found out that Shinobu "outed" herself not too long after this review. Her team is understanding and the story itself brought forgiveness along with their love for Shinobu as a teammate and friend :DBtw, Kurenai knew from the beginning that Shinobu was female. Thanks for another review :D I'm so happy you're still reading. (All in one day too? wowza!) Thank you :D

* * *

><p><strong>ThePhoenixOfTears: <strong>Haha, ya.. see that was a twist that I had for later on but felt it necessary to reveal due to the fact the I was going to lose a reader for something that makes perfect sense and I have it well thought out :P I told you I could imagine you forgiving him, I fully expect you to as time goes on but who knows, I could be wrong. What guys try to kill Shinobu? Oh, no, they were after Akio, Shinobu was simply defending him. Ya, no romance XD Only T-Swift and Naruto? Hurm. lol. Similar yet different, you like country then? See I'm a fan of the black veil brides, naruto, shugo chara, fall out boy, kaleido star, falling in reverse. etc. I'm a post-hardcore anime lover lol. I like the songs by BM. I won't put Mirror on Hiatus. If anything it will be Illusion and Two Roads. (I love how I talked about everything getting busy then posted a side story. fail.) It's ok, I normally understand your reviews XD Certain bugs, like spiders, make their own homes by bodily fluids. The bugs are simply creating a plaster like substance to fix the whole so they only need to paint over it :D They definitely are a good team XD Haha, it means exactly what it says, everyone is disliking him so no one gets in trouble for attacking him in broad daylight. Those eyes bug me... I personally dislike going out in public with out a friend because people tend to look at me funny :/ I just hate the feeling of being judged. Haha, persistent is an understatement. XD Gaara is known as a demon.. that enough is a reason for fear but they are a tough team who gives off killer vibes. Plus I can easiler imagine Gaara killing someone if they tried to attack. Haha, ya, the little girl was sweet XD ANKO TRAINING! I am really looking forward to this XD I love the idea of partners as well as a team. :D Haha. 100, they are ninja. I have to do 100 sit ups every day if not more and I do 100 push ups but in 25 reps. Hinata is strong but her clan's style of fighting is more about accuracy than power. Alex is freaking out because he thinks Akio might not be gay. :P I somehow make everyone feel forgived or loved at one point or another along with hated. Every character will have moments of good and bad XD Haha, those comments. I have no clue how I'll bring him back but I'll find a way XD or multiple ways. *brain goes into overdrive* The marriage may or may no happen depending on if Alex tells Akio.. I actually have a rather sad Idea for this all xD I will work on a mirror chapter before this gets posted. (I am moving today so it'll be later but I'm trying my best XD) Thanks for the review! :D


	21. Worth it All

**A/N: I feel like I'm turning into a chronic liar here. School still hasn't started and I'm moving tomorrow. But right now, I have free time until work :/ Oh well. Guess it's a good thing XD Now I realize I didn't adress one thing and that's, this isn't canon. Several things in this story won't be canon. It's simply the effect having another character there will have. Shinobu's presence changes certain things. Hopefully you'll like those changes. Her presence here creates the first four man genin squad giving them an opportunity to learn something that the higher ups usual learn. This jutsu doesn't actually exist but I'm using Asuma and Kurenai as an example because of how close they got. We don't see them together often and I'm using this as a reason for them to get close. Or rather how they got close. :D Enjoy. (I need to stop with long A/N's lol)**

* * *

><p><strong>Worth it all~~Song by Rita Springer. I know it's a religious song but I chose it for how the lyrics can relate between Hinata, the Hyuuga clan and Shinobu. Not in relation to god. Though if you're religious it's a good song for that too. :)<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

Shinobu and Hinata awoke with a start at the loud knocking echoing their room. They looked at each other for a moment before standing at the same time and getting the door.

"Hinata-sama. Shinobu-san. Anko is here to watch your training." A young woman bowed before leaving. The two of them made there way to the yard, careful to keep in step. They had been in the house for a week now and had gotten pretty good at staying in synch, even picking up food and swallowing at the same time.

"Hinata! Shinobu. Glad you can make it. I've just come from the Inuzuka household.. surprisingly the two are doing fairly well in terms of dogs. The being in synch thing isn't going so well though." She chuckled.

"So what are we doing today?" Shinobu asked, tilting her head and grinning when Hinata did the same. Anko chuckled.

"You two will be sparring each other, taijutsu only. If this goes well you'll start using the same attacks to attack each other at the same time and block. Your movements must stay the same. Just don't accidently mirror each other. That's what Kiba and Shino did." She laughed and Hinata and Shinobu looked at each other dumbfounded.. they had to fight but they couldn't do anything the other person didn't.

"W-what about my c-clan's s-style?" Hinata asked, looking worried and confused.

"Shinobu will pick it up, though she doesn't have your eyes she'll get the basics. You will also pick up her style." Anko grinned, looking devil-ish.

Is Hiashi-sama alright with that?" Shinobu asked looking dumbfounded.. she was supposed to learn their technique without their eyes?

"Yes, simply for the fact that you will be taking an oath." Anko explained.

"Speaking of which.. you will not start until you take it. Please come here." Hiashi ordered, appearing out of no where.

"Yes sir.." Shinobu spoke, moving towards him, honestly she was a little nervous.

"This seal is fairly close to that of a summoning scroll, it's a contract. After much discussion with the Hokage I have agreed.." He explained, gesturing for her to sign her name. She bit her thumb and wrote her first name.

"Last name too." Hiashi stated. Shinobu frowned but did it. Hiashi didn't seem shocked and said nothing.

"Perform the hand seals, boar, tiger, snake, monkey, boar, dog, tiger." He stated and she did so, concentrating on her chakra.

"That burns..." She winced feeling a sharp burn make it's way up her arms traveling to meet at her collar bone.

"That's because you have received a seal.. any secrets you learn of our clan will remain in our mind. If you try and discuss them with anyone other than a Hyuuga your mind will be wiped. It also functions similarly to the branch seal.. as you are not an official Hyuuga, this is slightly different but you will be treated as a branch member. It is your job to protect Hinata from now on.. fail and you will receive normal punishment." Hiashi explained and Hinata looked floored. Shinobu simply nodded.

"Is there anything else I should know about it, Hiashi-sama?" She asked.

"Well.. you are the first of a different eye jutsu to receive this seal.. it may or may not react to that. Though I'm not sure how.. you will be treated as a Hyuuga even if you do not share our name.. you are welcome here anytime." He explained, a small smile gracing his lips. Shinobu had met him before when she trained with Hinata or came to pick her up.. so she figured it was a good thing.

"Thank you sir.." She bowed before returning to the two in the yard. Hinata gasped slightly.

"What is it?" Shinobu asked.

"Your neck.. " She whispered. Anko handed her a kunai to use as a mirror. Right inbetween her collar bone there was a yin-yang symbol surrounded by the Hyuuga cloud symbol on either side. It was a glowing dark blue. _No wonder it burned.. _

"Oh.. haha.. it's no big deal. Let's get started?" Shinobu asked, rubbing the back of her head. Hinata looked like she wanted to say something but she didn't.

"Alright. start." Anko grinned. Hinata and Shinobu faced each other and bowed. _How do we do this.. If I try to be her.. and she tries to use my style.. we'll just switch.. _Shinobu sighed looking Hinata in the eye before they both ran to face each other. Hinata went to strick with her normal style but realized Shinobu was attacking with a simple punch so switched it so their punches collided sending them both backwards.

The two went on like this for hours, taking little to no breaks for water. They received food from a branch member sometime during training but other than that they continued. Slowly thinking more and more alike. It was odd to see, they'd start switching from one style to the other gracefully with little flaw. It was hard to follow and while Shinobu didn't actually know Hinata's style she managed to pick up how to hold her hands and stand to strike. She was learning. Hinata on the other hand was used to training with Shinobu and had been learning her style for a while so it wasn't nearly as hard.

Anko grinned.. for one week they had made a lot of progress, you could still see lots of moments where one would quickly switch to match the other but they were getting better. At this rate they'd have it down by the time the chunin exams started.

"Hinata! Duck!" Shinobu shouted as shee ducked too before kicking out, her foot colliding with Hinata's sending her backwards. Why hadn't she thought of speaking before until they got the hang of it. The two continued fighting giving the odd verbal signal like "duck", "kick", "bridge". It had been a good seven hours with few breaks when they both collapsed into the dirt. Anko smiling cheerily on the sidelines while eating Dango.

"Good job you two." She said after she finished chewing. Throwing water bottles which, if they hadn't have caught them, would have hit them in the face.

"So.. random question. How have you two been bathing? I'm interested to find out after Kiba's answer." She laughed. Both of the girls looked dumb struck for a moment before going to respond.

"Well we..uh.. you can.. uhm.. I.. we.. you.." The two said, ending in a fit of laughter as neither could say anything without getting cut off.

"Hinata, you explain." Anko grinned.

"W-we've been going to the bath house." She smiled awkwardly, still trying not to laugh.

"See? Girls are smarter than boys!" Anko exclaimed, shaking her head. "Kiba's mother has been bathing them with hoses out in the yard with the dogs!" She chuckled and both of the girls froze before breaking into more laughter.

"S-shino is smart. I'd bet anything it was Kiba or his mother's idea." Shinobu laughed.

"A-agreed." Hinata smiled.

"Well, I have to go now. But I'll be back in a day or two. The guys need more help than you." Anko grinned.

"Alright.. see ya then." Shinobu smiled, going to bow, Hinata following. It was odd. She was so used to bowing now it became habit. Even if it wasn't someone she'd normally bow to.

"Hinata-sama!" An elderly lady shouted, walking over.

"Yes? Mika-chan?" Hinata asked, tilting her head. The woman looked confused when Shinobu tilted her head to but continued anyway.

"Your father has requested your presence for dinner this evening." She bowed slightly before walking away.

"Uhm.. does this mean I should come or leave?" Shinobu asked, not sure when it came to the training.

"Come with me." Hinata asked shyly. Shinobu nodded. "Afterwards can we train a little bit more? Or would you rather go to bed." Shinobu asked as they walked towards Hinata's bedroom to find more suitable clothing to wear. Shinobu didn't particularily like dressing up in a Kimono or walking around the district as a female but it was a request from Hiashi that while she was in the compound she remained a she. It felt odd, trying to sit cross legged or walk like a girl. After so much time trying to act like a guy she had to actually focus on being girly or she'd forget.

It only took them five minutes or so to get ready since neither of them would wear make up, not that Hiashi would have allowed that. So it wasn't that long before the pair was making their way to the main house's dining room.

"Hinata, Shinobu. You're here. Have a seat." Hiashi ordered. They both sat at the same time, both trying not to focus on the glares of Hinata's younger sister. The girl didn't seem to like them all that much. Both of them were wondering why they were there but kept their thoughts silent so they didn't get scolded.

"So this is the girl?" A much older lady said, eyeing Shinobu from the end of the table. "Well? Are you going to answer?" She spat. Shinobu quickly stood up realizing she was supposed to introduce herself and much to her shock Hinata stood up beside her. Whether it was for support or training she didn't know but she guessed it was a mix of the two.

"Hinata, sit down." The lady ordered.

"I c-can't. This is m-my training. W-we are the same." She tried to explain through stuttering, it was obvious she did not stand up to these people. The woman growled but nodded.

"My name is Uchiha, Shinobu. I am Hinata..-sama's teammate, guard and partner in our new training. Thank you for allowing my presence in your home." She bowed to a point where her head almost hit the table, waiting for acknowledgment before rising.

"Well.. at least the girl has manners.. but do you really think she's ok Hiashi? An Uchiha.. being a member of the Hyuuga clan? It's unspeakable!" The lady tried to reason.

"I believe so.. she's received a seal and in her time here she's done nothing but help everyone she can along with training with Hinata." Hiashi stated. Shinobu felt awkward, watching the two of them talk as if she wasn't there.

"Let me see the seal.." She beckoned and the two genin made their way over, kneeling in front of her. "Does it work like the one your brother created. Hiashi?" She asked.

"Yes. It's that exact seal." He explained. Mika smirked and Shinobu got a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Have you tested it?" She asked, her eyes not leaving the faintly glowing tattoo.

"She has given me no reason to." Hiashi stated, a small glare starting to take over his features. Before anyone could say another word Shinobu was screeching on the floor, writhing in pain. Her eyes widened slightly, the pain made her head feel fuzzy but everything became scarily clear to her. She was biting her lip to stop from crying.

"What are you doing Mika?" Hiashi shouted. The old woman just smiled.

"Testing it, if you don't test it how do you know it'll work when you need it?" She smirked.

"S-stop it! It w-works n-now s-stop!" Hinata yelled, shocking everyone. Mika immediately dropped it leaving the girl panting on the floor while clutching her chest.

"I..would n-never betray the Hyuuga clan.. I've already lost one.. why would I want to lose another, Mika-san.. You will never need to use that again.." Shinobu panting, shakily standing up. Everyone looked shocked.

"Hmm.. we'll see." She said before departing. Hiashi apologized. Hanabi had gotten over her shock and just smirked slightly. The girl was unnerving.

"Are you alright.. Shinobu?" Hiashi asked as the girl sat back down.

"Yes.. but I would like to get one thing straight here. Though I would never betray you.. I am not here for the Hyuuga clan in general.. merely Hinata. Unless given a good reason to be here for the Hyuuga clan I will not be treated as such. I understand that this is a privelage.. I undertook this seal for the sake of that.. but you are simply my new clan right now. Not my family. Don't get the two confused." She spoke, looking Hiashi right in the eye. She refused to back down and her confidence was unshakeable.

"Interesting.. Well, I am glad to hear you are here for my daughter and will never betray us.. I hope that last opinion will change over time. You may leave now." He stated, the two bowed before leaving the room. Shinobu almost running into someone as she left.

"I'm sorry!" She bowed as soon as she stood, apologizing.

"You bow for a branch member? Though you are treated like a member of the main house by Hiashi-sama.. You don't belong here.. this is not your destiny." The boy stated simply.

"Is it wrong to bow for someone in apology when you may have hurt them?" She asked, leaving before giving him a chance to answer. Her head was in a flurry and her chest still ached.

When they got to their room Hinata immediately went around gathering items before handing her a cream.

"What is this for? And who was that?" Shinobu asked, rubbing her collerbone.

"Th-that was my cousin, N-neji. He's a genin. T-the cream i-is healing. It s-should help with the pain." She explained, pointing out a series of scorch marks along her chest and shoulder. "When you f-finish I have b-bandages.. I am s-so sorry." She bowed.

"Hinata.. we're friends. I am here for you, and if I can't deal with a little pain I shouldn't be a ninja. By the way.. do you want to be a medical ninja?" Shinobu laughed, trying to make light of the situation. "And if you don't mind me saying your cousin has a stick up his arse." She scowled.

"It's not his fault.. his mother and father.. they're both g-gone. H-he tries his best but i-is trapped by his blood.. h-he is a b-branch member." Hinata explained, wrapping up her shoulder.

"Oh.. I'm sorry.. " Shinobu whispered.

"It's a-alright.. a-are you sure you're ok?" She asked, concern filled her voice and eyes.

"Yup. It hurt a bit but I need them to trust me so I can keep being your partner.. I hope they don't do it again though." She sighed.

"I don't think they will.. s-some of t-the elders can be c-cruel though. One of t-the branch members had it used o-on him when he put a little b-bit too much pepper in Mika's food.." Hinata explained.

"That's awful.. I hope that will change one day.. no human should be sealed like that just because they were born later or their parents were branch members." Shinobu whispered, poking at her arm before putting on pajamas.

"M-maybe we s-shouldn't train for a small while?" Hinata asked, remembering Shinobu's earlier request.

"We can train again tomorrow.. just not right after dinner like I had hoped. Hopefully it will heal a bit over-night." She sighed, getting into her bed.

"G-good night, Shinobu-chan." Hinata whispered.

"Night, Hinata." Shinobu smiled. It was worth it.. to get to have someone so close. Hinata was worth the pain.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Mwehehehe.. Wrote the first half and A/N before work. Back now and I'm blasting my music and typing. :D And now I'm typing this part of the A/N before I start moving XD lol. A.k.a the tomorrow above is today and I love confusing people :D not really but ya know, enjoy. WEEEE, now I'm writing mid-move on break. The boys (my cousins and movers) are taking the truck over to the new place and I filled the hall near the elevator with all the furnature I could carry so now it's simply a waiting game.**

* * *

><p><strong>DutchyPuppy: <strong>I don't think Shinobu realizes some of the stuff Hinata has to do. But Hinata has to do stuff Shinobu does to. :PHaha, I will never stop updating until it's complete :D

* * *

><p><strong>Hanible666: <strong>Yaay :D Thank you for your review. I'll be honest. I'm writing this in just before an update and I'm way too lazy to change my A/N but I've had a terrible day. Your review was it's highlight. I smiled for the first time today. So thank you. I've never heard of Rainmaker but I'll check it out :P nice to meet you "some random New Mexican" lol :D

* * *

><p><strong>Alli ate Sora-Sorry Roxas: <strong>Yup :D Frozen pizza XD Hmm.. maybe I can accomplish a none hate there.. they have been raised like that but they aren't bad people :P You can use the quote :P Haha, I hope to world tour :P Fingers crossed XD What type of music do you listen to?

* * *

><p><strong>ThePhoenixOfTears: <strong>Haha yup :D Chunin exams are coming up XD I like her lyrics and songs but mneeeh, I like remixes of her songs better :P Haha, It's not hard, it's impossible not to become addicted XD Ya :/ I hate running into people I know outside of the place I know them unless they are a close friend. lol. Ya they kind of are XD

But when Hiashi deemed her not good enough she was pushed aside and Hanabi received all the training. Hanabi was trained by Hiashi but she was doing her best to beat Hinata at everything so she could keep her father's attention. Ya :/ smiling gets hard and unfortunately, although she told people, she hasn't really let any of the emotions out so they're drowning her. As the quote, via me, says "Everyone lives their lives in a bottle of emotions. If you don't let any out you're sure to drown." Ya I know right? Shinobu seems to have a good influence on him. Yup :D Anko is back. And scarier than ever ;D What do you mean "There's a difference with the genjutsu?" If you are refering to Shinobu's.. nope still don't understand lol. I also paired them up because of weight. Shinobu as a girl weighs clsoer to hinata, that just happened to work out well for me :D It's kind of like a mirror.. but it would be like the mirror doing the opposite of you in a way. If you pick up your right hand it looks like the mirror (like an actual mirror) is picking up it's left hand. They're both using the same hand (both right in this example) so they don't mirror each other. They do the same movements with the same limbs at the same time. Eventually it becomes more than a copying thing. It forms a sort of mental connection. Sort of like the frog thing :P Wait.. is it Gambuta or Gamakichi? eerrr.. Shinobu has dark thoughts provoked by her past and her life. She has significantly less though because unlike her brother she never saw her parents die.. she never knew their love like he did. It's cool but scary yes :P Well.. that's the funny thing. She got overly arrogant, overly quiet and overly shy. Along with Naruto obsessed, self-conscious and mental issues. all got interesting teams XD I honestly haven't thought of showering yet XD but they simply watch each other's jaws. Then mentally calculate the size of the bite versus the ammount of chews so they chew the same ammount and swallow at the same time XD Haha, so oblivious but you have to admit it makes him him XD Hiashi is harsh.. but not necessarily mean all the time :P He's actually quite nice later :D I wanted to show bits and pieces of everything. I think we'll have more Shino moments after the chunin exams. I'm learning Guitar.. I can play keyboard, but from memory of the notes. I don't know the names. I just learned song after song by memory :P Guitar is fun but painful.. ow. LOL. Music reaches people, dance can but not as much.. That's why I want to do music. So I can make a name for myself as well as inspiring others and helping them through tough times. Like some music has done for me. Your reviews help me :D I like the fact that you aren't just focusing on the story but on the A/N's as well :D I hope that I can reach my goal too. Haha, I don't know if you are into post-hardcore music but if I ever manage to get a good band, get a label AND tour (sounds unlikely but I'll try) I'll try and get you a ticket so I can meet me infamous reviewer who was there for me :D Lool.. it sounds so cheesy XD


	22. Hell is for children

**A/N: Woot, sorry it's been a little while since the last update. It's going to be a couple of days until my next because it's been 18 days since I update mirror.. so ya.. gonna update it a little bit XD**

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

"Bring me my tea girl!" Mika growled. Shinobu quickly brought it over, setting it on the table beside her before bowing.

"Anything else, Mika-san?" Shinobu asked. She had persistantly refused to call her "Mika-sama" since it showed a respect the woman didn't deserve. Unfortunately Mika didn't see it this way and Shinobu soon found herself clenching her teeth trying desperately not to fall as the woman pumped chakra through her seal. Over the past three days Mika had taken to doing this. Requesting something or getting Shinobu to do something, then saying she did it wrong and punishing her. Over time Shinobu started to stop herself from screaming, then falling. Now she just stood there whimpering, wishing it would end soon.

"Say my name." Mika growled.

"Mika-san." Shinobu spat.

"That is not my name. I told you what you should call me." Mika shouted.

"I.. will not.. c-call you that. Y-you are not s-someone I respect n-nor are y-you a clan head or Hokage..." Shinobu growled. Before Mika could respond she found the pain vanishing as some appeared behind her. She coughed up a bit of blood but said nothing.

"Mika! What are you doing?" The voice, she quickly recognized as Hiashi's, said.

"Punishing her! She won't say my name correctly." Mika explained as if it were no big deal.

"Shinobu.. what's her name?" Hiashi asked, slightly confused.

"Mika-san." Shinobu stated.

"She said your name perfectly.. I see no problem. Don't let me catch you doing that again." Hiashi growled.

"No.. It's Mika-sama. She is a branch member!" Mika tried to reason.

"No.. she is an special member who will bring us peace and great power. If anything, you should be calling her Shinobu-sama but I know she wouldn't be comfortable with that." Hiashi stated before leaving the room with Shinobu short on his tail, leaving Mika shocked.

"Are you alright?" Hiashi asked, he knew Mika wasn't using it at full power or the girl could have died.. but to stand while it was in use.. no one had done that before.

"I am fine.. I just need to re-bandage it before training so Hinata won't find out." Shinobu stated, already fixing it so it could hide under the new sweater she had started wearing.

"Hinata?" Hiashi asked.

"I don't want her to worry or back out of training.. this can boost her confidence and strength. I like being her partner and this seal won't change that." Shinobu stated.

"You really care for her.. don't you?" Hiashi asked, for once showing a bit of sympathy and emotion. He mentally cursed himself.. but this girl.. she seemed so different than anyone else who had tried to work with their ninja. She was determined beyond belief and she wore her emotions on her sleeve.

"Yes.. in a short amount of time she became part of my make-shift family.. I will do anything for my family. Speaking of which.. I have a question for you." She sighed, finishing up the bandages.

"What is it?" He asked.

"I know I am not allowed to speak of information I've learned about the Hyuuga clan or it's fighting styles.. but will I be able to explain the tattoo to my teammates?" She asked looking up.

"Yes.. as long as you're not explaining it's workings. You can say things like how you stayed with us, that the tattoo is a seal or that you learned our style. But you can't explain things about our workings as a clan, teach our style, or explain what the seal does. I didn't design it.. my brother did. I may try and find a way to change it a bit as time goes on." He explained.

"Okay.. thank you." She bowed before heading to the training field. Hinata was probably waiting for her with Anko.

"You're late maggie!" Anko yelled with a grin when Shinobu came running. For some reason the boys were maggots and the girls were "maggies" it was odd. The two girls had grown accustomed to her being around. It was always quiet without her random cursing and shouting when she left. Hiashi didn't seem too fond of her but allowed her into the compound none the less.

"Sorry! I was serving tea!" Shinobu explained sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head in a clenched smile. She had to make sure she didn't show her pain or Anko would stop the training for the day if not for longer.

"Then why wasn't Hinata with you?" Anko asked curiously.

"B-because we have the in synch part of this d-down." They both grinned at the same time, Shinobu throwing in a stutter to match Hinata. "That and Mika doesn't want Hinata serving her." Shinobu scowled.

"Alright.. you too got good fast.." Anko muttered.

"It's because we already knew our fighting styles and the way we acted from past missions. It was just a matter of doing them at the same time." Shinobu smiled.

"And your strength training? It's been roughly two weeks. How are we doing." Anko asked.

"I'm not struggling d-during the push ups a-anymore." Hinata smiled.

"I've been doing fifty of them normally, then twenty five one-handed on each arm." Shinobu grinned. She was already good with strength from all the training with Naruto and the guys.

"Pretty good. Then I'll give you each a goal. Hinata, I want you to make twenty five of your push ups clap push ups. Shinobu, I want you doing clap push ups in place of the ones you have been doing normally, keep the fifty one armed push ups." Anko grinned, both girls sighed.

"Why do we need this much arm muscle?" Shinobu asked, saying what Hinata was thinking.

"Well, for one, it will give you a heads up on most of the teams in simple punches.. including males. You both have been working really hard, you're almost where the guys are. Shinobu, you are about equal with Kiba and Shino is just a bit stronger than you, Hinata." She smiled, letting her sweeter side show as she tried to encourage them. Yes, she does have a sweeter side.

"But.. does it relate to the partner thing we're learning?" She asked.

"Oh shut up maggies. Train and stop questioning." She growled.. apparently her sweet side didn't last for long. She couldn't keep her scowl for long though as she watched the two of them train, quickly zipping through the exercizes even though they had added on difficulty. Not too much time had passed when they were sitting in front of her, waiting for further instruction. They tended to do their normal training when Anko had left and let her tell them what to do when she was there.

"I want to see your normal training today.. Just so I can see how you two are moving along in each other's styles. You can spar after I leave to visit the boys." Anko said, sitting down to eat a dango which she grabbed out of no where. Shinobu was starting to wonder what was in them because she seemed addicted to the things.

"A-alright." Hinata stammered before dropping into a lunge. They always trained in Shinobu's style first because it stretched out their limbs and they both found it easier to practice juuken after they did. Anko watched in mild interest as they went through the usual stretches but soon became more intrigued as they started into some of the more acrobatic moves. They had both gotten walk overs and back flips but you could tell Shinobu had been training for longer when they went into their elbow bridges because while Hinata was an inch away from her ankles, Shinobu's chest hit the ground and she was looking forward through her knees.

"Random note of doom. Hinata doesn't need to learn that much flexibility if she doesn't want to." Anko muttered, not looking away from Shinobu as she rolled her legs back so she was laying down. Hinata did too but had to be a little more careful so she didn't face plant.

When they finish stretching the two of them started doing seperate things they needed to work on. While Hinata worked on speeding up her walk, which was closer to a run, in a bridge along with her flips and handstands. Shinobu was in a handstand with her back bent so her feet were resting on the top of her head. Her arms shook a little as she tried to keep balance, shakily taking a step forward before rolling out into a bridge and repeating. If Anko didn't know any better she would have sworn Shinobu was from the circus or something. It was amazing to watch.

The girls finished up, Shinobu a little earlier than normal as she was trying not to reveal her pain. Anko gestured for them to come over.

"You're improving a lot. I just want you to keep working on your strength, if you don't you'll be in real trouble when we get to the real strength training. I won't be visiting again because I have a mission but I want you to meet up with Shino and Kiba on your last day of the two weeks. You will fight each other side by side. Kurenai will watch you. It should be a duplicate fight, but you won't be allowed to see each other's battle. Good luck." Anko grinned and with a wave, she disappeared, leaving the two dumbfounded genin internally freaking out.

"H-how are we supposed to train for that?" Hinata asked.

"It's what we have been doing I think.. since we got so used to sparring while copying each other.. it's almost second nature. Like, you know how we don't really think about it anymore? We just fight and do the same thing? Well we're going to hope we're still thinking alike when we fight. Half of it will depend on them as well, if they attack differently it will cause us to attack differently and visa versa." Shinobu grinned, she thought they could do it. They'd been spending night and day together for all hours of the day, copying every little thing they did.

"I think there's a flaw in this jutsu." Shinobu whispered.

"Ya.. I agree... I-it brings all skill levels to match your partners.. r-right? So if Shino is really good at staying calm and thinking things through, either Kiba needs to learn q-quick or Shino will have t-to start rushing i-into f-fights and dumb h-himself down. N-not saying Kiba is dumb." Hinata stuttered.

"We're kind of lucky with this.. we're evening out pretty quickly." Shinobu smiled.

"Shinobu.. you were supposed to come straight to me after you finished your training with Hinata-sama.." Mika scolded with icy eyes. Shinobu tried not to shiver as she bowed in apology before nodding to Hinata and following Mika.

"How has she been doing in training..?" Mika asked, absent-mindedly as they walked through the halls.

"She's doing good. We're almost completely in synch.. I can almost imagine what she's thinking. We both need more practice but I am sure we'll get there." Shinobu explained, trying not to say anything offensive or say too much that could get her in trouble.

"I see.. that's good. You will be helping another branch member clean the kitchens today, you two seem to be the most disobedient so it only seemed fitting to give our good people a small break in reward.

"Alright.. may I ask who the other person will be?" Shinobu asked warily.

"You'll see when you get there. I expect the entire place clean by morning. I will go retrieve your help." Mika growled before pushing her into a large kitchen area. "This will be the punishment for continually disobeying me." Mika smiled. There was flour coating the walls and table along with extra dough on the tables. There was a mountain of dirty dishes in three sinks off to the side. There was something brown crusted on to the stove. She hadn't expected it to be this messy.. wouldn't they have gotten in trouble for this? It was probably Mika's doing.. they were told to be messy or something along those lines.

"I am not a branch member.. simply a friend who wishes to protect Hinata and defend her village. I won't obey you like they do because we are not the same." Shinobu spat.

"You are a branch member here! You ungrateful brat! You should be happy you were accepted in at all.. if it weren't for your power I would have killed you long ago.. learn your place.. or I will crush you until you can't move out of it." She growled.

"The head of the clan himself addressed me as a special trumph card for the clan who is to be treated as a higher up to you. I obey what little I do out of respect for the clan.. not you. Do not think I don't know my place in this clan. I do.. and it will go up.. I will prove myself farther.. I am already trusted." Shinobu finished before letting out a squeak.

"You will not take over our clan.. you will not change things!" Mika screeched in laughter watching the girl squirm helplessly on the floor. Shinobu bit straight through her lip as she tried to avoid crying out. She was not weak.. this woman.. would not make her weak. After what seemed like a lifetime, the pain subsided and she found herself clinging to the cool floor. _I wonder if this will end up scarring.. _She sighed.. trying to get her headache to leave along with the burn in her movements. She had to get cleaning and fix herself up before someone walked in.

Shakily, she stood up, using the table in the center of the room for balance. She smiled and pumped a little bit of chakra through her system, just enough to numb her nerve endings until she finished this. She quickly sighed pulling her hair back.. she hated her long hair.. it felt odd. There was an apron sitting on the side of the stove so she picked it up and put it on before working on scrubbing everything from the ceiling down. That way if anything fell it would hit things that hadn't been cleaned yet. Instead of starting with the floor and having everything from the ceiling re-dirty the floor. She was hanging upside down off the wall, scrubbing the flour of the ceiling, when the door creaked open.

"What are you doing..." a familiar voice asked and Shinobu could almost picture a raised eyebrow and judgemental smirk. _What's with my luck.. seriously.. does some higher being hate me or something? _She sighed.. this was going to be a long night.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Different day now. So my count of regular reviewers is going up :) So I am really thankful for that and I hope you are all enjoying the story. lol... now just wait for the day that the review replies are shorter than the chapter itself. LOL. Oh and uhm.. please don't hate me for the cliffy? O.o**

* * *

><p><strong>Note: The song is hell is for children by pat benatar. It's about child abuse and I felt it fit Shinobu and what's going on right now perfectly. It's an amazing song (then again I think most of the songs I've been using are amazing) but I would suggest listening to it if you normally don't listen to the songs. :D<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Alli ate Sora-Sorry Roxas: <strong>Well have you heard of Fall out boy? Sort of like them with a swing of post-hardcore like black veil brides, falling in reverse or escape the fate. Then my own style mixed in :D Mainly post-hardcore lol. Thanks so much XD World tour.. that would make my life XD I don't know if there is a business for that but their is a business for getting them removed :D Along with cucumbers, shampoo bottles, eggs. LOL. and ew,, =/ XD P.S koodo's for being my 69th reviewer :D

* * *

><p><strong>DutchyPuppy: <strong>Haha :P Sorry about that XD Chicken. Lol. I updated fairly quickly and yuuummm *mind still on chicken*

* * *

><p><strong>CatCutthroat: <strong>Glad you do! :D

* * *

><p><strong>Hanible666: <strong>Haha, sorry for freaking you out :D I'm not sure how your time zone is compared to mine but ya, I update fairly quickly. I used to update quicker but school and moving is slowing me down. YES! I get to live longer :D I may or may not in the next little while. I confront almost everything I bring up. Especially with canon characters so it's just a matter of when XD Uh oh O.o I hope your mind isn't burning too much O.o Have a good sleep :D ~Random escaped mental patient from Canada. :D

* * *

><p><strong>ThePhoenixOfTears: <strong>Haha I wrote a response to your entire first paragraph and then I realize it only consisted of "yup" and "ya" and "That's what I thought" so I condensed it into this sentence LOL. haha, it's there to read for the people who want to :D You've never heard? Well some good examples are Falling in Reverse and Black Veil Brides :P Haha, I plan to start with covers :) but I am currently working on honing my own skills instead of finding other people so I can be a valuable member of the band when there is one XD I've worried about the same thing.. especially since the lyrics I write are always personal to me. I don't want to upload something and have it stolen. :/ Thanks for the heads up :D lol. Haha, I appreciate the thought put into it though :D It's fine :P We all have our days.I like that they're doing good, I think it's because they're more similar than people would think. They're both trying to prove themselves and get stronger. They want positive attention and re-enforcement from their family and they're both self-conscious. They both love Naruto (though in different ways) and they both have exceptional taijutsu skills :D I hope I can get this Kiba Shino pair to work. I'm still in debating mode. lol. Yes! People get the training XD The order of the seals is partially random but I made sure that tiger was the seal used twice because it's used in most if not all fire jutsu's. Which will be explained later (a.k.a above) *burning feeling* haha, I'm not sure if this will make it into the story or not but Hiashi gave his permission for multiple reasons. One, after watching Hinata and her team for a while along with a small amount of personal meeting he quickly realized how good her influence was on Hinata, who appeared happier. On top of that it would bring power to the clan because of her eyes. Then, for icing on the cake, it was a request from the Hokage himself after Anko and Kurenai brought it up with him. Haha :)Ya, their similarity definitely helps :D Girls have wider hips and most (not all) walk straighter. Look at the males in naruto compared to the females. Take away the ones with odd objects shoved up their rears and they walk and fight closer to the ground. I think the seal should be changed too but who knows.. Shinobu may change that XD Hanabi definitely comes off a bit cruel. She was raised a deal by other main house members, Mika being one of them. It shows in her personality. Hiashi is harsh, but he cares. I didn't want him making a jab at Hinata during that. I have reasons which also got shown above lol. Hinata is loyal and sweet XD She's one of my favourite characters and I hope I do her justice. I haven't forgotten about the pup ;D lol. She definitely doesn't want to show people she's vulnerable because she's afraid of losing people because of it. She lost her family because she was exiled for being weak, she doesn't want to lose anyone else and she associates the two. Weakness is loss to her. Are you a poet? You created that? It's phenominal! :D No sorry? You didn't do anything to be sorry for lol :P Chunin exams are VERY.. VERY.. soon xD I'll remember your advice and update fairly soon :D There is no such thing as too long :D lol. and yup :D Thanks for the review XD and yup! Or eventually the famous reviewer? lol. I think no matter what happens I'll share my success with a few reviewers and other than that, earn my views on this story from the story and not from my music lol. Thanks XD


	23. Unwritten

**A/N: So.. dun dun dun.. who was the voice? Will Shinobu and Hinata pass their fight against Shino and Kiba? What happened to the dog Kiba mentioned? Are the Chunin exams soon! Find out by reading the story XD It's what it's there for. lol. enjoy :D P.S I know this was sooner than expected but I was at my aunts for several hours with nothing but food and a laptop. No internet.. so I worked on both stories :D I loaded some youtube videos.. but with my luck most of them said "error" and the rest only load half way.. fml.. *I normally listen to FIR while typing*. P.P.S Mirror wasn't updated.. I planned on waiting until both were done and do a double update but I literally have NO time. I barely have the time to put this up along with my normal reviewing so ya.. It will be up soon.. I hope.. :D J'adore l'ecole.. oui? NON! **

* * *

><p><strong>P.S The song is unwritten by Natash B. This is because Mirror is unwritten ;D see what I did there? I couldn't think of a song and I didn't do mirror.. so.. ya. :D<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

_"What are you doing..." a familiar voice asked and Shinobu could almost picture a raised eyebrow and judgemental smirk_. _What's with my luck.. seriously.. does some higher being hate me or something? She sighed.. this was going to be a long night._

* * *

><p>When sending another quick burst of chakra through her system she turned around to see none other than Hinata's cousin, Neji Hyuuga, standing their with the same smirk she had just been imagining.<p>

"I'm cleaning the flour off of the ceiling.. are you here to help or mock me?" Shinobu asked with a smirk of her own. If he was going to mock her then she was going mock him right back.

"Hn... no.. I'm here to help. It-" Neji started but Shinobu quickly interupted him.

"Ah, don't finish that sentence. Let me, seriously. _Tis my fate! My wretched family control my destiny which I must blindly follow. Oh.. woe is me!_" She laughed, bringing a hand to her forehead before laughing and dropping to the ground. Neji didn't say anything, he simply glared at her.

"What? Main house got your tongue?" She smirked. She was being driven mad from lack of sleep and smiles. At least with hardships at home she had Naruto and as much as Hinata tried she just couldn't get over her stutter enough to crack a joke. She was going to get her share of laughs from cleaning this kitchen whether Neji liked it or not.

"You really shouldn't talk about something you know nothing about." Neji growled, grabbing a cloth to start working.

"Hypocritical? You nothing about me, my brain or it's contents. Here." She smirked, throwing an apron at him. It had a little heart in the corner and a small line of frills at the top.

"I'm not wearing this.." He protested, looking at it in disgust.

"There were only two in here and you don't want to get your clothes dirty do you?" Shinobu grinned, climbing back of the wall to continue working on the ceiling.

"Then switch with me.. you're a girl.. you can wear this one." Neji stated, eyeing the thing as if it were about to move and attack him.

"I am not girly.. you could pass for a girl. Wear it, I'm not switching." She rolled her eyes but smirked to herself as Neji put it on, muttering to himself in defeat.

It didn't take long with the two of them working to finish off the ceiling. Especially considering the large amount Shinobu managed to clean before he even arrived. She was proud of herself, but looking at the amount of work they had left to do she began to worry. Normally she would at least get some healing cream before hiding the burns, she wasn't sure she'd be able to keep working as well as hiding her wounds until it finished.

"I-i'm going to take a break.." She muttered loud enough for Neji to hear before moving into the corner to sit for a moment, gritting her teeth to let her chakra relax for a moment. It was straining her inner coils. It took a fair deal more chakra to numb nerve endings than it did to pretend to be a guy and she wasn't used to it.

"Are you not a ninja..?" Neji asked, obviously trying to belittle****her.

"I am.." She muttered, she was already embarrassed at her lack of endurance skills right now. She wasn't up for having Neji rub it in her face.

"And you're taking a break already? It makes sense that you're paired with Hinata-sama.. you both put Konoha and the Hyuuga clan to shame." He shook his head and Shinobu felt a twinge of guilt. Not for the Hyuuga clan or Konoha.. she knew she was strong and that she represented them both well.. but she was failing Hinata.. she just put her partner's name to shame.

"Hinata is not weak." Shinobu growled.

"If you think she is not weak then you must be horribly uncapable." Neji smirked.

"I am not.. I'm just.. not at my best currently." Shinobu muttered, quickly pushing more chakra through her system as she stood, stumbling slightly before making her way over to the table to start scrubbing it off. Neji watched her for a minute before approaching her.

"You have a seal." He stated, eyeing her collar bone.

"And you thought they treated me like a main house member.. looks like you were wrong, eh?" She chuckled slightly before adjusting her sweater. There was a two inch area around the tattoo before the burn was visible and she didn't want Neji spotting it.

"You have a seal and you've been serving Mika-sama?" Neji asked curiously. Shinobu nodded hesitantly.

"Has she used it yet..?" Neji asked, still watching it glow. It was obviously a Hyuuga seal but it wasn't placed like most of them were.. also.. if she didn't have byakuugan.. how would it effect her?

"No.." Shinobu muttered harshly before turning away to continue cleaning.

"Why would you submit yourself to that..?" Neji asked, not laying off.

"Hinata is an important person to me. I am not doing this for the clan, but for her. She wants to prove herself.. as do I.. I will help her with that." Shinobu stated simply, using her nails to get crusted on dough off the oven.

"She is worth that much to you..?" Neji asked, scoffing when Shinobu nodded. "You are weak.. to think you can change her. It won't happen. You can't change fate."

"How would you know? Have you ever even tried? You accept what they tell you and let them shove beliefs down your throats.. it's your own fault that you're like this. You control your own fate." Shinobu growled, wincing slightly as the vibrations from her throat hit her burns.

"You lied.." Neji whispered, quickly removing Shinobu's sweater when she collapsed to the ground. She had her tank top underneath and it revealed extensive burns running down her left arm and chest. It was restricting her breathing and she quickly found herself hyperventilating.

"N-not l-like it's your business." She growled, cursing herself for stammering. She tried again and again to be strong.. but she continually showed weakness. To Kiba... to Hinata.. to Akio.. to Kurenai.. She was being weak.. it was no wonder she wasn't wanted.

"Stop talking.. you'll only hurt yourself." He sighed, picking her up and carrying her towards Hiashi's quarters. Normally he wasn't allowed near there but this was an exception. It was well known that it was Hiashi's decision to let her stay with them and he wouldn't be impressed if she died.

"Y-you're not the boss of me." She spat, wincing as she did so.

"Or start using your vocal chords which are most likely burnt and lose your voice forever.. as you said.. this fate is up to you." He rolled his eyes. Shinobu shut up immediately, wincing. She went to send a burst of chakra through her system only to cry out in pain as it back fired. She was using up too much chakra and the seal itself felt as though it was feeding off of her skin. Neji quickly sped up, carrying her bridal style, as she entered a coughing fit. Blood was dripping down her chin as she finally managed to take a shaky breath.

Neji winced as memories flashed in his head.. he remembered seeing other branch members like this. They'd make a main house member mad and have the seal used to a degree where their eyes would start bleeding.. it could kill if used harshly, and whoever did this was definitely not being gentle.

It wasn't too long before he found himself standing in front of Hiashi's door, hesitating slightly before knocking on the door. He too would be punished if he didn't bring her to him and she died. He may be his uncle but he was the Hyuuga head before that.

"Neji what are you.. What happened?" Hiashi quickly ushered him in upon noticing Shinobu.

"I think someone used the seal on her.. the last person she was with was Mika-sama. She might know what happened. I brought her here as soon as I noticed." Neji explained, bowing slightly.

"Alright.. Kioko, go get Mika please.. and get Usagi too." Hiashi ordered, laying Shinobu on a couch, glaring as she tried to protest. Shinobu watched with slight fear as he held an all too familiar hand sign. Much to her relief her pain lessened.

"The seal was still partially activated.." Hiashi sighed, taking in the damage. He need to adjust this seal.. he couldn't have people abusing this power.

"Hiashi-sama? You called me?" A young girl, maybe seventeen years old, entered with a bow. She was obviously a branch member.

"Yes. I need you to start healing Shinobu." He explained, gesturing to the girl laying quietly on the couch. The girl, Usagi Shinobu assumed, gasped before rushing over to start healing the burns. Shinobu went to thank her but was promptly shushed.

"Hiashi.. what do you need?" Mika asked, not impressed. She was wearing a face mask and an oversized housecoat.

"What happened to Shinobu?" Hiashi asked with a hard glare, bringing Mika around to see the crippled girl laying on the couch.

"I don't know..?" She mumbled quietly.

"Do not lie to me." Hiashi growled.

"She was punished for her insolence.. nothing wrong with that." Mika backtracked, it was obvious to anyone with eyes that she knew she was doing something against the rules.

"There is a limit.. I made myself clear.. you have no place punishing her. For anything. Neji explained that they were cleaning a mess you caused in the main house kitchen." Hiashi stated, his face calm but his eyes gleamed with fire that could burn far worse than what Shinobu had experienced.

"I did not cause that mess! How dare he tell you that!" Mika screeched.

"He did not tell me that. I was just leaving when you ordered the kitchen staff to make a mess and not clean up. You will go now and clean the entire kitchen in their place. It is your insolence that needs to be punished. She has done nothing wrong and is of more value to us than you." Hiashi stated. Mika's nostrils flared and her face turned red in anger but she said nothing as she slammed the door and stormed away.

"Kioko.. you may leave. Thank you. Usagi, once you are done healing her you can go to bed. Neji, may I ask you to escort Shinobu to her bedroom when she is stable?" He received three nods before he swiftly exited the room leaving everyone in silence. Usagi finished quickly, nodding to Neji before disappearing. He went to see what Shinobu was doing, wasting his time. Instead he saw her unconscious on the couch, her chest lifting slightly as she inhaled.

He sighed before picking her up and depositing her at her bedroom. He made sure to get her sweater back on.. she was obviously trying not to worry Hinata and it would do neither of them any good for her to find out.

* * *

><p>Hinata and Shinobu sighed in relief. They had just finished their last training session and though Anko hadn't come to visit them they had made good progress. Hiashi and Neji adlibbed to help them train once or twice and they did pretty good considering their partners had no experience in this kind of training. Now it was up to them to meet up with Kiba and Shino in an hour. They made sure not to strain themselves too much today so it was a matter of getting ready. Luckily this was a taijutsu only battle so there wasn't much to pack.<p>

"I wonder if Shino has improved his taijutsu any.. that has never been his strong point." Shinobu muttered before eating a riceball that Usagi had brought them. Ever since she healed Shinobu Usagi had been healing them both between training and bring them water. Shinobu found she liked her, she was conservative but friendly none the less.

"I w-would assume s-so." Hinata smiled. She had been nervous before but with lots of re-assuring from Shinobu she was starting to look forward to this battle. She was fairly sure they could do it.

"Hinata.. Shinobu. Come here for a moment please." Hiashi called, he had seemed friendlier too, which was good in Shinobu's eyes. She was starting to see him as someone to protect as well, not that she'd tell him that yet. Neji still had a stick shoved up his rear.. but he was nice enough when he wanted to be.

"W-what is it, dad?" Hinata asked. Shinobu smiled. Hinata had started calling him dad after Shinobu told her that despite him being the clan head she didn't need to show the formality that the term father held. He cared for her and the word dad on it's own would probably bond them a little bit. The first time Hiashi heard it he sounded shocked and Hinata mentally freaked out but he immediately smiled afterwords.

"When Anko first talked to me about this training.. it was two sided. You were originally supposed to be with Shinobu for a week.. am I correct?" He asked, both girls looked at each other before nodding.

"W-why are you asking?" Hinata asked.

"Because, I am giving you permission to spend a week with Shinobu. I feel she had proven her need to protect you. The only request I make with this is that you lock your bedroom door when you sleep." He chuckled sheepishly, catching the girls off guard.

"A-alright!" Hinata grinned before bowing slightly. "Thank you!"

"I'll make sure Naruto doesn't do anything, sir." Shinobu grinned.

"Thank you.. now good luck with your test." He smiled before walking away. While emotion wasn't in his nature.. it seemed to have a good effect with Hinata. He had seen her improvement with his praise and smiles. Unlike Hanabi who just looked like she saw a ghost and walked away. They were different.. he needed to start realizing that.

"So.. you going to tell Naru when you're at my house?" Shinobu laughed as Hinata turned bright red, shaking her head furiously.

"You know.. you're going to have to tell him eventually." She laughed as Hinata groaned slightly realizing this.

"I know.. b-but.. it's scary to talk to him." Hinata sighed. Shinobu patter her shoulder in understanding before getting up to go meet Kiba and Shino.

* * *

><p>"We're so gonna kick your butts!" Kiba grinned as Shinobu and Hinata walked towards them, their steps in synch and their minds in tune. Akamaru was waiting at Kiba's ankles and there was a bug version of a dog near Shino. <em>I never thought about that.. Shino not only had to become in synch with Kiba.. but Akamaru too. That must have been hard. <em>Shinobu thought to herself.

"Y-ya right! We're going to win." Hinata stammered right back, saying what she knew Shinobu would have said had she been paying attention. Shinobu grinned at the words but both Shino and Kiba looked shocked by the change.

"Cat got your tongue Kiba?" Shinobu laughed as Kiba used his hand to get his jaw off the floor.

"Alright guys! You will be facing one on one on either side of this wall. Anko will be on that end of the wall and I'll be on this end so we can see both fights. Everytime Kiba and Shino get out of synch a horn will go off, every time Hinata or Shinobu aren't in synch a whistle will blow. Got it?" Kurenai explained with a small smile. She had heard about the progress from Anko and was looking forward to watching them fight.

"Hai!" They all shouted before seperating. Kiba facing Shinobu and Hinata facing Shino. The teams nodded to each other before going out of sight.

"So.. do you guys have heated hose water?" Shinobu grinned, her grin was short lived though when she heard her voice slightly echoed. From the other side of the wall Hinata had said, "Did Tsume heat the hose water?". Shinobu quickly found herself laughing. Hinata knew her too well.

"Oh shut up." Another echo growled. The whole group was laughing at this point, it seemed they succeeded for the most part.

"Anyway.. G-good luck." Shinobu smiled, bowing slightly and throwing in a stutter as she saw Hinata do before every spar. Yet again it was echoed. It felt odd, knowing that they knew each other so well. Shinobu and Hinata had quickly figured out that it was easier to start in juuken stance because it was simpler to dodge easy strikes. They had come up with a slight code. For specific strikes or aimed strikes they would use juuken. For power strikes they would use Shinobu's style. They both learned to analyze their opponents attack and use the opposite style to attack next. They had found a happy medium of juuken and Shinobu's style. Where they could cut off chakra and flip and punch all at the same time. It was like they had mixed dance and acrobatics with Juuken and basic taijutsu.

Kiba looked slightly shocked as Shinobu slid into Hinata's stance but quickly slid into his usual stance. Or what appeared to be his usual stance from a distance. His weight was shifted differently and he kept his arms closer to him than normal for quick defence. It made Shinobu wonder what they had worked on while they were gone. What shocked her the most was when Kiba didn't rush forward, he was waiting for her to move.

Both Hinata and Shinobu paused, since their opponent hadn't attacked they had to assume it would be a specific attack since it was not rushed, therefore they should use a basic taijutsu combo. Both girls rushed forward for a couple of metres before entering a series of simple flips. They landed at an angle, aiming to knock their enemies right foot out of the way and flip to kick them into the air.

Kurenai watched in shock as Kiba and Shino both jumped out of the way before turning and going to attack the girls from behind. Before she knew what was happening she was watching a flurry of attacks, blocks and flips. Both groups seemed to know exactly what to do and they slid in and out of styles with ease. She watched as both Shino and Kiba's left arms went limp at the same time and when Hinata and Shinobu went skidding through the dirt. It was odd, they not only attacked, blocked and dodged at the same time.. but they seemed to know when to purposely miss or get hit to match each other too. They all had learned each other's weaknesses.. now it was just a matter of learning how to cover each other.

It wasn't long before all four of the genin were panting with similar injuries and little fight left in them. Anko gave a thumbs up to Kurenai before the Chakra wall disappeared. The two sensei's walked over as Shino, Shinobu, Hinata and Kiba collapsed to the ground, Shino's bugs filtering back into his body as Akamaru whimpered.

"We'll call it a tie.. you made small mistakes but did the same attacks and movements.. you've done a great job." Kurenai praised, her smile showing her sincerity. Hinata and Shinobu grinned, laughing with each other and Shino himself grinned too. Kiba was laughing hysterically but everyone temporarily ignored him.

"S-so guess what K-kurenai sensei?" Hinata smiled up at her, catching her slightly off guard. Her voice was louder than normal.

"What?" Kurenai asked with a raised eyebrow. Anko just grinned, having seen the improvement over time.

"My d-dad said I could s-stay with Shinobu for a week t-to properly finish training." She smiled and Kurenai's jaw dropped. She had never expected that of all things.

"Did he really?" She asked, almost afraid it was a prank. But when both Shinobu and Hinata nodded she smiled.

"That's awesome guys!" Kiba grinned.

"Yes, good luck." Shino smiled slightly.

"Thanks guys." Shinobu grinned slightly, she winced mid-grin but nobody took note.

"Oh! Shinobu. I forgot about something!" Kiba exclaimed, his devious grin causing his eyes to glimmer.

"W-what...?" Shinobu asked cautiously, fearing for her safety. Instead of responding Kiba let out a low whistle and before she knew what was happening Shinobu was attacked by a black blob.

"W-WHAT IS THIS?" She screeched trying to fight the thing off. She kept feeling something wet hit her cheek, was it poison?

"That's your new dog. Remember the litter? Apparently they were born a little early and this one matured quickly. So it's alright if she goes with you." Kiba grinned as Shinobu looked warily at the little black blob who was now sitting in her lap and wagging her tail.

"Don't worry, my bugs recognize her scent like they do for Akamaru so they won't attack." Shino explained.

"Does she have a name?" Shinobu asked curiously.

"Nope, you get to name her." Kiba chuckled as the dog almost peed on Shinobu's foot. Shinobu rolled her eyes before picking up the small puppy and kissing her nose.

"I'm going to name her Hitami.." Shinobu smiled.

"Why?" Kiba asked.

"Tami is a name for benifit to the people around you. Hi is flame or light.. Hitami is going to be my little light and she'll help me.. right?" She asked the puppy who was no wagging her tail. She barked so Shinobu took it as a yes.

"You should see if she can do any tricks.. Hana tried training her a bit." Kiba grinned.

"Uhm.. alright." Shinobu thought for a minute. "Sit!" She tried commanding. Hitami immediately layed down. "That didn't work.. ok.. uhm.. chase your tail!" She tried another one only to watch Hitami roll over. She couldn't help but giggle and praise her dog.

"How is that a good thing? She didn't do it!" Kiba asked, astounded.

"Yes she did. Why tell your enemies exactly what you're going to do. If she thinks it means something else it confuses enemies." Shinobu grinned, retesting the words to find they works the same every time. "Roll over." Shinobu giggled and Hitami stood up on her hind legs. She was a smart dog, it was just a matter of remembering what word meant what. She'd have to thank Hana later for training her.

"That's actually kind of smart.. I'm surprised we never thought of that." Kiba mumbled.

"Alright alright, maggots, maggies. Before you go into a mushy scene Kurenai has something to tell you. Bye!" Anko cackled before disappearing.

"B-but! I wasn't going to tell them yet?" Kurenai yelled after her though she was long gone.

"What is it?" Hinata asked quietly. Kurenai sighed.

"I'm not sure if you have noticed.. but there are foreign ninja visiting our village right now." Kurenai started.

"So? We can take them down!" Kiba grinned, obviously mis-understanding.

"That's not what she meant, baka." Shinobu laughed.

"The chunin exams are coming up.. it's up to you all individually if you'd like to participate. I've entered you because I believe you're ready. But it's up to you. It is in three days. So Hinata will have to stay over at your house later Shinobu. I'll give you these. If you want to register, it has the place and date on it. You just have to sign it and show up. There are a lot of ninja so you may want to show up together." Kurenai explained. She didn't want to force any of them into feeling like they had to participate so she figured it would be best to make them think it was individual. Kakashi was doing the same thing. She figured it would work out in the end.

"Hell yes! We're going to kick ass!" Kiba shouted just in time for a swat to the head. _Can I do this... I can't let my team down.. but will I make it..? What if I fail.. _Shinobu sighed.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So something not many people seem to know about the Hyuuga seal is that the main reason it works is because of the byakuugan. They clutch their heads because it is effecting their eyes. Same reason it's on their forehead. Shinobu's seal is special and will work slightly different. Instead of effecting her eyes it effects her chakra. She has fire natured chakra.. which is why she is burning. It still effects her because it's working with the elemental nature in her chakra mixed with the genes used in all eye jutsu. Which is why it's a Hyuuga seal, it's a run off. :D ****OOH! BIG NOTE!**** School has started and I've had two days of nothing but school, travel time and work. That is why this has been so delayed! GOMEN. I will never stop writing. If I'm gone for over a month on ALL of my stories, assume I've died unless told otherwise :D**

* * *

><p><strong>Alli ate Sora-Sorry Roxas: <strong>Haha, mine too x3 I've been a fall out boy fan for years but more recently I caught onto the love known as post-hardcore. I never knew it existed before XD I hope it can be awesome XD O.o yes.. eggs.. bleh. Haha, maybe start with Sasuke and Neji? LOL XD You are special! and that's a good number XD LMFAO.

* * *

><p><strong>DutchyPuppy: <strong>Haha, it's Neji :D OMG! There are so many cute penguin animations and gifs online XD Especially involving falling and tripping XD lol. Haha, I'm more of a crispy chicken person myself but YUM XD you're right XD It is good *is eating chicken at McDonald's* lol XD A pumpkin o.o LOL :P You might want to give him two, it would entertain him more XD

* * *

><p><strong>little firework: <strong>Haha, I will :D thank you :D

* * *

><p><strong>Mi-chan1991: <strong>Agreed :P Mika seems to have a hole where her heart is meant to be XD I actually liked Hiashi in canon. He was strict but it was obvious he cared. The only time he used the seal was when Neji's father had a killing instinct for Hinata. Nobu-chan? Hurm. Can I use that? It sounds so cute XD I have an idea of where to use it to! O.o I updated XD (I'd say I'll update soon but you just read the update lol)

* * *

><p><strong>XxInuzukaxX: (Chapter 11): <strong>Ya, I love team eight too. Haha, glad you liked the test :P The bell test seemed too cliche, and I needed a reason to get Anko into the story.

**(Chapter 12): **Kiba always reminded me of a short tempered, sweet, grinning goofball XD Haha, the Omake made me laugh writing it XD Glad you liked it. XD

* * *

><p><strong>namine23: <strong>:D Glad you liked it :D School just started for me but I'm not abandoning it XD Haha, I do juggle a fair bit :P Is stressful but I love it at the same time XD In a way it is my me time :D YESH! A fan of both! *that's a rare thing lol XD* Even the band themselves is over it. Even if the lyrics are a big f u to ETF they're all over it and the music is epic so listen enjoy and be fans of whatever you like! :D That's what I think :P YESH! BVB too? Their are awesome people out there! .. did I just refer to myself as awesome? I'm so modest TEE HEE (nigahiga reference, I'm addicted XD) but ya, thanks for the review and for sharing your epicness ;D lol.

* * *

><p><strong>ThePhoenixOfTears: <strong>Haha, ya. Fast updates seems to be my specialty. When I dedicate myself to something I tend to improve fast or in this case update fast because I put everything into it. Unfortunately.. I don't dedicate myself to much.. LOL. For Black Veil Brides I suggest "Knives and Pens" and "Perfect Weapon" for Falling In Reverse I suggest pretty much any song but try "I'm Not a Vampire", "Raised by wolves", "Tragic Magic", "Caught like a fly" and "Pick up the Phone". Lol. That's a lot of songs. You don't have to listen to all of them but those are my favs. If you're only going to listen to one from each band go with I'm not a vampire and Perfect weapon. :D True.. that would be a good idea.. I know about liars.. I don't want to work with someone I don't trust so I'd try finding someone who can play an instrument well and is dedicated to music and try getting to know them first XD Yup :D It's a genjutsu that changes her appearance. It doesn't change her posture or how she talks, walks, and acts. Those were things she had to learn on her own. Because she got so used to walking like a guy it's almost like she forgot how to be girly, it just isn't in her nature anymore. I definitely think Hiashi is soft at heart but losing his brother along with the way he was raised made it hard on him. Shinobu seems to speed up that process a bit though because in canon the first time he smiles and show kindness is the chunin exams when Neji loses his match with Naruto. I agree, Hiashi probably switched it to Hanabi for that reason along with the fact that Hinata wouldn't WANT to be a clan head. It's not something that's in her nature or that she'd like to be unlike Hanabi who would like to.

She will definitely open up over time.. but I think she'll need to hit rock bottom first. She's too stubborn. She'll have to realize that hiding the pain and suffering isn't helping her any and when she does she'll open up. I think I know exactly when she will. :D I'm honestly surprised, you're good at poetry :P I can only do Haiku's lol. She will train on her own along with Kakashi, Kurenai and Shikamaru. :D For the love of Pete? which pete? LOL. She does need help.. this clan has many problems and Mika is awful.. she's the first OC I can't find anything good about O.o she was a brat from child hood :D I definitely agree but it's the way the clan works :/ it's really stupid. To Hiashi she appears to have her heart on her sleeve because she defends what she believes in and appears open. In reality she defends what she believes in but has become very good at hiding bad emotions. Ya :D Shinobu is definitely loyal. Maggie and maggots XD gotta love Anko. She's very eccentric and her outfit alone is enough to make Hiashi become un-fond of her lol. Haha, with time you'd be able to do it :P They just happen to be stronger because they've been training since child-hood. No, they walk their hands back towards their ankles. I am only where Hinata is in flexibility :P Such flexibility does exist though XD No fleas for Akamaru lol XD You and I think alike my friend. She's definitely gone bat shit. lol. I think there will be small improvements over time but who knows :D one can hope. Haha, yup, it's Neji :D the sweetheart with a stick up his *The following language is not permitted on . Sorry for any inconvenience.* LOL. I'm glad you liked it and the ugly secret :D hiashi definitely becomes softer.. closer to a father figure :P I hope people don't think it's too unrealistic. Errr.. XD Mirror is updated! *even before this lol* They're both even in chapters now :D I love this song and I have the perfect Idea for it.. actually several ideas. XD Thank you SO much for showing it to me XD *been listening to it for about an hour straight now* Thanks for the review!


	24. Not Good Enough For Truth or Cliche

**A/N: So there was SUPPOSED to be a whole bunch of updates inbetween last update and friday.. but my teachers were abnormally cruel with my homework load. Ranging from two hours minimum to four and a half hours. Needless to say, little story my high school has an annual school camping trip for one specific grade it's from this tuesday till friday. So there will be no updates. I'll try to make up for that on the weekend I get back. Thanks tons for your patience *squeals like a pig because I LOVE rock climbing, kayaking and canoeing and I get to do all three*. Anyway. Enjoooy ;D**

* * *

><p><strong>Song: Not Good Enough For Truth or Cliche by Escape the fate. It's all about Shinobu's self-doubt and how she feels that she's bringing down the team "Sitting in this room playing russian roulette" She believes she's guaranteed to fail eventually but she's just now noticing the others she's dragging with her. "Finger to the trigger of my dear juliette" She doesn't want to hurt them. "Looking out this window, see her back drop sillouette." But she's not seeing things clearly. "This blood on my hands is something I cannot forget." Self explanatory.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

Shinobu could hear Kiba gulp beside her, she wouldn't tell for the sake of his pride; but if she were to be honest with herself.. she was nervous too. Sure she was putting on her confident face.. but that was only because Kiba was lacking in his job currently, Hinata never would and Shino was simly to much of an introvert for the most part.

She wanted to enter before the group blocked up on the second floor realized their error and started swarming, but something was stopping her. It felt like there was an invisible chain, hooked into her heart, dragging her back. Like the door was a negative magnet and while her team was made up of positive magnets, she herself was negative as well. It was catching her off guard. Why did she have this feeling of dread and utter doom just from the thought of entering a simple room? What could be so bad, other than failing, that could come from this?Taking one last breath she grinned.. she would do this.. and she would prove herself.

"Ready to kick some butt?" She grinned, punching an invisible enemy from the surrounding air. Kiba blinked a couple of times before grinning, seeming to have fallen out of his stupor.

"Hell ya!" He shouted, mocking her previous actions before dragging team eight through the doors into a room crowded of people. All looking fairly dangerous, radiating an aura dripping with anger and malice.

"U-uhm.. m-maybe we s-should be q-quieter.." Hinata mumbled more to herself but her team heard her none the less.

"Ya.. probably better to uh.. not draw attention." Shinobu finished, looking around and grinning slightly as she notice four familiar faces. Ino, Neji, Choji and Shikamaru. She couldn't tell who the rest of Neji's team was but it didn't matter. It was probably a great deal safer to stick with them. Quickly waving to her team the group moved over, quickly mingling with the other leaf genin.

Shinobu went to wave at Neji only to receive a glare mixed with a look of pure confusion. He was looking from her to Hinata as if he was trying to figure someone out. Was he surprised they were here for the exam? Hinata had mentioned that he became a genin a year prior to him.. but she meant it when she said she was strong.. he wouldn't be all that surprised. Right?

"Who are you..?" He finally asked after severl minutes of sizing her up. She froze for a second before a silently laughter quickly took over her body. He was supposed to be a genius? Yet he couldn't recognize her as a boy in a genjutsu? Kiba obviously noticed and was hiding his own laughter.

"A-ano.." Hinata mumbled, embarrassed for her cousin.

"What's so funny?" He asked with a glare.

"My name is Shinobu.. I'm Hinata's teammate." Shinobu wheezed, holding her sides. It wasn't all that funny in reality but the pressure of everything had got to her.

"Wait.. so y-" He started to rant before mentally facepalming, realizing why the girl was laughing. He couldn't understand why she felt the need to hide under a mask but felt fairly stupid none the less.

"S-sorry.. I just thought you'd recognize me." Shinobu wiped an imaginary tear from her eye before straightening out. "Want to introduce me to your teammates?" She asked.

"I'm Lee! It's so youthful of you to show such a display of joy!" The boy wearing a bright green jumpsuit, which was not flattering him in the least, exclaimed. A girl behind him groaned to herself before moving to introduce herself.

"Hi, my name is Tenten.. uh.. ignore the dork.." She laughed sheepishly, a light blush on her cheeks which didn't go unnoticed by Neji.

"Nice to meet you then. My name is Shinobu." Shinobu smiled politely, bowing out of habit from being in the Hyuuga mansion. She was about to say something to Kiba when Hitami mewled at her ankles. They hadn't been together all that long, but she was starting to learn small signals from her new ninken. Akamaru was definitely helping since Kiba could understand him and Akamaru could understand Hitami.

Shinobu watched in awed horror as Naruto, once again, made a fool out of himself and put himself and his team into a dangerous situation. She couldn't help but facepalm. He was such a dunce sometimes, a cute dunce, but a dunce.

"Shinobu!" He shouted, finally taking note of her.

"Hi, Naru. It's been a while." She frowned, taking in the truth of the sentence. It's been close to a month because of their missions, training and being at the Hyuuga compound.. that's longer than she's been away from him in years. She wasn't so sure she liked this part of being a ninja.

"Ya.." He took on a similar frown.

"But at least we're going to be together after this right? And Hinata-chan is staying over too!" He grinned, oblivious to the look of hatred and distest he received from Neji.

"Since when are you staying over there? Didn't Hiashi-sama refuse?" Neji questioned.

"He changed his mind because he believes she's safe with me, which she is." Shinobu grinned while Naruto just looked dumb founded, not quite understanding how there was a safety issue here.

"Hn.." Neji muttered but said nothing more. Shinobu sighed to herself before bending over to pick up Hitami, putting her in her sweater like Kiba did with Akamaru. She had bought a baggy black sweater just for the small dog, who seemed to like it. Just as she was zipping up her sweater she felt an arm around hers and a loud bickering in her ear. Sakura and Ino going off while Sasuke looked equally uncomfortable in the arms of Sakura. Shinobu couldn't help but let a small smirk slip which was returned. She felt like grinning at the smirk.. but knew better. It was better to pry Ino's arms off her and get out of there.

Her mind reeling, it was the first semi-friendly interaction she's had with her brother. She was so focused on that one little smirk she barely caught any of the following events. Not the all too familiar boy coming to talk to her brother. Not the cards with endless info on them. Not the short fight with the sound village. Not the looks she received of confusion and interest from the four. She only clued in when a man started scolding them. She stayed silent watching as the number of eyes on them slowly drifted away and the man, Ibiki, explained the written exam.

Part of her panicked, sure she was smart and had done a lot of studying in the library.. but she wasn't nearly prepared enough for this. She was no Sakura. As she listened to the rules the gears in her mind shifted.. he said not to cheat. Yet, to her, it didn't sound like "don't cheat". It was like pulling pranks with Naruto, when the Anbu told them not to do it again. They weren't really saying "Don't do it again", they were saying "Don't get caught." Or atleast, that's what Naruto taught her. She wondered if he would realize as quickly as she did. It wasn't the time for that though. She had to focus on her own team.

_Hinata has her byakugan.. she's set. Shino has his bugs.. and Kiba has Akamaru.. I could use Hitami if we could communicate better.. but we're not that good yet. _Shinobu sighed, Hitami whimpering in agreement. She felt stuck. None of her jutsu were made for this. Even Naruto, he could make a clone and disguise it as one of the chunin examiners. Any of these ninja had something in their arsenal except for her.

When she was seated she found herself in a row with two typical looking ninja, then, at the end of the row, there was a boy with red hair. Nothing particularily unusual but his aura was almost scaring her. Yet, something about it was comforting at the same time, it felt familiar. She couldn't place it if she tried though. Now that she was paying attention the boy had something resembling a large peanut strapped to his back with a cork in the top. He also had the kanji "ai" on his forehead. She wondered why they were there or what they could mean.

"You may flip over your papers now." Ibiki ordered rather than allowed. Everyone flipped the papers simultaneously, leaving a sound of paper wings swooshing through out the room. Some pens immediately hit paper and started clicking against their desks while others stopped, obviously thinking of ways to cheat without getting caught. Shinobu herself was one of the people who was already writing. There were nine extremely hard questions and as she made her way through more she had no doubt that they were supposed to cheat. These were chunin level or higher. If she were to guess, she'd say that there were probably chunin disguised as genin also placed through out the room so that there was somewhere to smooch the answers from. She could get some of them on her own, but she knew she'd need help as each question got harder.

The pressure and temperature in the room seemed to rise as time went on and more teams were eliminated. In her row alone there were just the two of them left out of the original eight who sat in the two desks. It was just the red haired boy besides herself and he seemed to have no trouble finishing. In fact, it looked as if he was daydreaming, his test already flipped over.

She looked around the room, being careful not to move her head to much to see if she could see her teammates. Hinata seemed to be whispering silently to Naruto, but was done while Akamaru and Kiba were working together to finish up. It was only Shino she couldn't find but that question soon answered itself when she felt the tickling sensation of bugs crawling up her leg and onto her desk.

They quickly formed the words "Copy the bugs" before scattering. She had to thank the heavens. Shino had finished and thought of a way to help her. Part of her felt bad though.. she was the only one who didn't do much. As if reading her mind the bugs flittered again forming the sentence "I don't have question 3, 6 or 7". She smiled to herself. He was probably trying to make her feel better.. but it worked. He could take those answers, it worked two ways.

She watched as the bugs moved in an intricate dance forming words and sentences just long enough for a glimpse before scattering. Shinobu could feel her hand cramping as she tried to keep up but sighed in relief when Ibiki told everyone to put their pencils down. She had just finished in time.

"Now.. the tenth question." He stalled, trying to build up suspense she guessed. It worked, though she didn't have any particularly bad oral habbits she currently felt like knawing her finger nails off. What if she failed the question? What would her team think? Sasuke? Naruto? Kurenai? The Hokage? Iruka? She sighed, kneeding her knuckles into her temple.

"Now.. before we get to it. I'd like to go over the rules for this question. These are.. the rules of desparation." He started, everyone sitting in shock. Had he not mentioned earlier that there were no rules? "First for this tenth question.. you must decide whether or not you're going to take it." He explained slowly.

"Choose? What if we choose not to!" A girl with four blond pigtails exclaimed from the back of the room.

"If you choose not to your points will be reduced to zero. You'll fail! Along with your two teammates!" He said, his words looming over everyone. Shinobu felt like pointing out she had three teammates.. but it wasn't the time.

"WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?" Another boy shouted from somewhere behind her.

"Then of course we'll choose to take the question!" A girl shouted from the front of the class.

"And now.. the other rule." Ibiki spoke as if he didn't hear them. _More? Why can't he just tell us already.. this is making me nervous! _"If you choose to take it and answer incorrectly.. that person will lose the right to take the chunin selection exam again!" He finished and an echo of gasps could be heard through out the room. _So if I choose to take it.. I could stay being a genin forever.. never prove myself.. never get the chance to protect my loved ones.. but.. if I leave now.. I might be ruining this chance for my teammates.. but.. it's just a rank right? I could still be stronger.. still prove myself.. still gain rank.. just not title._

"What kind of stupid rule is that? There are guys here who have taken the exam before!" Kiba shouted, Akamaru barking from on top of his head. Shinobu couldn't help but smile a bit, his anger boosting her confidence a bit.

"You guys were unlucky.. this year.. it's my rules. But I'm giving you a way out." Ibiki grinned.

"Huh..?" an unintelligable question came from somewhere in the room.

"Those that aren't confident can choose not to take it... and try again next year." He looked as if this was amusing... like this was all some big joke. _Look underneath the underneath.. _

"There's no way you're serious.." Shinobu finally stated outloud, looking Ibiki straight in the face. She didn't feel the need for talking to him, but rather she was taking the chance to let her teammates know that she was in this. "My old teacher told us that it was important to look underneath the underneath.. it's something most jonin teachers tell us now too. This is probably just a farce.. besides.. we're shinobi.. if we're not prepared to take risks.. we should be gardners or shop owners." Shinobu finished, now playing with her fingers, an odd habit she had picked up off of Hinata.

"Hm.. well that's for you to decide. Those that do not wish to take this question, raise your hand. Once your number is confirmed, you and your team may leave." Ibiki stated.

Shinobu watch in awe as more people disappeared from around them, muttering apologies. There had to have been five teams who left before she saw his hand raise. She watched in horror. Naruto..? Giving up? That wasn't like him.. no way. He wouldn't..

"Don't under-estimate me!" He shouted and she grinned, of course he wouldn't. "I will not run! I'll take it! Even if I'm a genin forever..! I'm gonna be the Hokage anyway, so I don't care!" His voice echoed, people watching in awe. Naruto could be Hokage.. or some sort of public speaker, his stubborness inspires other people. His words made hers feel pathetic. As he spoke she felt every seed of doubt disappear from her mind.

"I'm not afraid!" He finished as he sat down in a huf.

"I'll tell ask you again. Your life is riding on this decision. This is your last chance to quit." Ibiki spoke, as if trying to scare more of us into leaving.

"I follow my unbending words. That's my ninja way." Naruto grinned, determination burning in his eyes as he looked down at Ibiki. Un-surprisingly, not a single person left after that. Thanks to Naruto. So Ibiki continued on, everyone on the edge of their seats.

"You all pass!" He grinned. It was as if he changed personalities as he explained to the many confused about how the two choices was the tenth question.

"I had a feeling this test was like that." Naruto nodded to himself, trying to appear smart. Shinobu couldn't help but smile, not only at him but at Hinata who was giggling beside him.

Shinobu watched as Ibiki finished his inspirational speech, just barely avoiding puking as he revealed his torture wounds. She was distracted half way through by a shadow lurking in the window.

The woman broke through the glass, her loud introduction shocking everyone except for a specific four sitting in the room. Shinobu shook her head.. she should have known better.

Anko.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I think my reviewer count is going up. We've hit 85 and I'm honestly shocked. My goal for this story was originally fifty and I'm really happy. Maybe I should set my expectations higher? Thank you all. FUN FACT: Seeking Solace has 3 times more hits than Mirror and a little under twice (it did! The numbers changed when I updated!) as many reviews. They're the same length. Seeking Solace = 12, 121. / 89 Mirror = 3, 187. / 60 ;D but ya.. finding your response is slowly becoming a hide and seek game but look below I swear if you reviewed it's there :D lool. Btw.. sorry for the cliffy :(**

* * *

><p><strong>Zabimaru46: <strong>Wow that's high praise O.o Thank you soo much :D I'm glad you enjoy reading :D Thanks for the review.

* * *

><p><strong>DutchyPuppy: <strong>Lol, I haven't seen that movie yet but I want to XD haha, laziness.. I have that too XD ewww potato.. only awesome when throwing green bouncy inflateable balls at them XD thanks for the review, random as ever XD

* * *

><p><strong>B: <strong>Aww, sorry you feel that way :P I'm not trying to make him annoying lol. Hopefully he'll be less annoying as time goes on :) thanks for reviewing :)

* * *

><p><strong>little firework: <strong>Yay :D I will :) er.. did? lol :) Thanks for the review.

* * *

><p><strong>Mi-chan1991: <strong>HUZZAH! Zzzzzz... so pooped. lol :D haha, thank you :D I know exactly who will call her that XD ..o.o Shinobu.. and death.. if she turned out like Sasuke it could work.. but.. I don't think I'd want her to be like him XD herm ;D Shi-san.. Nobu-chan. MWAHAHAHA XD Thanks for the review :D P.S it is the kanji for death :D

* * *

><p><strong>magykalheart: <strong>A.. new.. reviewer? SQUEEEE! *glompz and hands chu cookie* I'm glad you liked the story and don't die but enjoy the laught XDD I made you cry? I feel oddly accomplished and bad at the same time O.o thank you so much for the review :)

* * *

><p><strong>Alli ate Sora-Sorry Roxas: <strong>Haha, I like it XD Maybe you will? Who knows XD People like different stuff. A wonderful number indeed *laughing butt off* .. literally O.o my arse just ran away.. LMFAO.. INSANE MENTAL IMAGE XD Naruto laughing his butt off, it laughing and him running after it. Running past Hinata, butt jumps into hinata's arms. She faints XD LOL.

* * *

><p><strong>XxInuzukaxX: <strong>YAY! :D You're up to date XD I'm glad you liked it so much. It's okey :D I'm thankful for the reviews you did give XD I don't like Mika either.. she's just cruel sometimes.. alot of the time.. most of the time.. LOL. The sync training was fun to write about :D Mwahahaha, Chunin exams :D Part one is above ;D Thanks for the review and yay! reviews XD Enjoy your rest :D

* * *

><p><strong>Narufanaticgirl: <strong>You read it aaaaalll O.O like in one go? O.o *bows to self* jokes jokes :d - attempting to lick nose ;D wow.. I feel random anyway I'm so overjoyed you like it so much! Hope you liked this chapter too :D

* * *

><p><strong>ThePhoenixOfTears: <strong>*15 minutes after updating* checks.. hurm.. *2 hours after updating* Okey dokey.. *Next day* Where is pheonix? *a couple hours after that* Omg.. is she ok? Did she die? Where is she? O.o I refuse to update until I know she is ok! *see's update* Haha Miyuki.. there ya go.. over reacting again ^^; *phew* LOOL. I'm so used to your reviews I totally freaked out :P I get what you mean though, school messes up speeds and stuff. I planned on updating on the 13th with two chapters but I had 3 hours or so of homework. GRRRR. Teachers; collaborating to eliminate my already non-existant social life. XD It's ok, I'm happy just hearing your thoughts XD

Yaaay :D Let me know what you think of the songs in your next review? I definitely agree with the thing about Hiashi (though I read Shinobi as Shinobu for a moment there lol) I'm actually looking forward to writing about rock bottom just because I sense a tad of mush there but I'm honestly debating between the shoulder belonging to Neji, Shino, Kiba, Naruto, Choji and Shika to be honest. With Naruto and Neji tied in the lead Shika and Choji tied in second and Kiba and Shino tied for third :P I may eventually do a poll with that XD like a couples poll, WAAAAAAAY in the future. You're right though, they're not getting much screen time right now, I hope that fixes in the near future. Unfortunately it shows how hard it is to visit and be close with people once you're a ninja, it's a hard life. Sasuke doesn't really count right now :/ lol. I'm expecting a meltdown.. I can't really imagine anything else (or less). Really? I always find haikus easy because it doesn't have to rhyme (not that I can't rhyme) but it's all about the syllables. 5,7,5

I do love haikus.

An opening of the heart,

Syllables perform.

They don't sound poet-y to me though :PGrr. she's the one Oc I can't bring myself to like XD oooh SONG *v*. Yup :D Pure epic awesomeness. I love Neji's character XD haha. I can listen to any song I like for hours XD Then again I lived through over an hour of nyan cat and 26 minutes of rebecca black's friday xD I know that, you know that, other readers know that.. but she doesn't realize. I hope she will eventually XD It's based off of several of my friends, that sense of complete belittle-ment. I went through a time where I was all self hate and now I'm like "weird is awesome", "I'm not fat or skinny, I'm a teddy bear of huggableness" LOOL. It took him a while but Shinobu was hiding it like everything else. =/ I CAN'T WAIT for Hina and Naruto XD MWAHAHAHAHA. I hope I don't disappoint with the chunin exams, not all will be canon so I'm a tad nervous. OMG I LOVE EVANESCENCE. It's an awesome song btw :D It's great for one of the chapters I lost the original song for. XD Haha, but some things are ;D you for the review. P.S sorry my review lied about the mirror update i forgot to change it but I will update it as soon as I can. It's a crack chapter because of writer's block but I'm trying my best XD


	25. Fighting Dreamers

**A/N: So.. I know what you're all thinking. "Where were all those promised updates? It's been weeks!" My response? Life's a bitch. I've been getting ridiculous amounts of 8-10 hour shifts recently and I'm in school. My dance studio is bugging me for money I don't owe and my little cousin kicked my dog. Oh and I've been sick for 3 weeks. :D the joy. I'll start normal updates again now, gomen for all of you who were waiting.**

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

_The woman broke through the glass, her loud introduction shocking everyone except for a specific four sitting in the room. Shinobu shook her head.. she should have known better. _

_Anko._

* * *

><p>"You guys! This is no time to be celebrating!" Anko's voice resonated, and while she was supposedly talking to the entire group it felt like the message was meant for them. It honestly gave Shinobu a bit of a chill, a foreboding sense of worse yet to come. If Anko thought there was no time for celebrating.. it meant they hadn't seen the half of it yet.<p>

"Eh? What are you doing here?" Kiba yelled out in what sounded like consternation. Anko scoffed but went on with her speech.

"I am the examiner for the second test! Mitarashi Anko! Now let's go!" She yelled, throwing her fist into the air. Sometime she reminded Shinobu of Naruto. Their personalities were very similar.. except.. Anko's tended to hold a creepier aura.

"Follow me!" She tried again, watching the room as everyone's faces morphed into disbelief, confusion or bewilderment. Shinobu could see Ibiki murmer something but she couldn't make out what it was from the distance they were at. Out of no where Anko let out a small, squeak of an outburst before glaring at Ibiki.

"Seventy-nine? You left twenty-six teams! The test was too easy this time!" She scolded.

"This time.. there are a lot of outstanding ones." He grinned slightly.

"Bah, that's fine. I'll at least cut 'em in half in the second test anyway." She grinned, well, it was more of a viscious smirk, but her eyes were bright as if she were smiling. Or maybe she was just happy at the thought of morbid things, the idea wasn't all that far fetched to Shinobu. The room itself felt like it tensed as everyone heard that last sentence. There had already been a lot of people to leave, how much more were they going to cut the group down?

"Aah.. I'm getting excited." Anko grinned and Shinobu couldn't help but think she was trying to creep them out on purpose. They had never been told the exact limitations of the exam after all, maybe this was all part of it too? "I'll explain everything once we're changed places, follow me." She finished.

* * *

><p>It wasn't all that long with the speed the group was traveling at before they entered a rather bare area outside of Konoha. On the edge of the bald patch there was a tall fence which seems to curve around a large forest. It had to be at least ten feet high. Right in front of them was a large gate, chained shut, which sported a large white sign. The sign read "Danger, Stay Out!". The forest itself appeared to live, the noises of animals, or rather, beasts coming from beyond the fence echoed in her ears. The branches of trees seemed to crawl and move. Something told her that the fence was not actually designed to keep others out of the area, but to keep other things in. If this was where their second challenge was she could only hope it wasn't going to be overnight.<p>

She had in no way prepared for a camping trip. When she thought of the chunin exam she had expected something similar to their two previous exams. The bunshin test, to see if their skills were adequate for their ranking, and the obstacle course which proved their teamwork and on the feild skills were also good enough. Then again, if she thought about it, this forest would be similar to the hedge maze they had encountered in their obstacle course. Both that and the forest were Anko related. Anything Anko related seemed ready to kill, maim or seriously injure them.

"Welcome to the stage for the second test, area forty-four." Anko grinned slightly, introducing it as if it were the set for a movie or a concert stage instead of a potential death bed. "Also known as... the forest of death!" She chuckled slightly at the agape mouths of many of the now frightened genin. She could happily do this as a job for the rest of her life, or at least, that's what Shinobu thought.

"This is creepy.." A voice murmered and Shinobu turned around to see Sakura clutching her hands together, standing inbetween Sasuke and Naruto. Shinobu hoped that she wouldn't slow down the other two and get them hurt or anything.

"Bah, you'll find out soon. Why it's called.. the forest of death." Anko's face turned deadly serious and Team eight exchanged glances, even while training under the woman they couldn't understand what she was thinking. She's too unpredictable.

"You think that scares me? That's nothing! I'm not afraid!" Naruto yelled out, pointing at her. Shinobu grinned, good ol' Naruto and his spirited ways. Unfortunately all her really did was attract more attention and set himself up for Anko to knock down. Before anyone could say anything to him, though, he placed his hands on his hips and began wiggling his butt back and forth as he mimicked her last sentence in a high pitched tone.

"Yeah.. You're spirited," she smiled. Shinobu would have laughed if it weren't for the circumstance. She watched silently as a kunai flew right past Naruto, catching his cheek before stabbing the ground. Quickly, like a flash, Anko appeared behind him. "Kids like you are killed quickly." Anko grinned and Kiba shuddered besider her as Anko licked up the blood now running down his cheek. "Spraying that red blood I love." She smiled before her eyes narrowed.

"Here's your kunai." A voice practically hissed from behind her, his abnormally long tongue gripping the kunai, holding it up for her to take.

"Why thank you," Anko smiled, licking her lips. "But you know.. don't sneak up behind me." She said, her voice suddenly dark. "Unless you want to die."

"No, I just get excited when I see blood, also, you cut my precious hair. I couldn't help it." He explained, his tongue disappearing like a snake into a hole.

"Sorry about that." Anko said, watching the guy walk away, the bow on the back of his outfit swaying slightly as he walked. Shinobu sighed, turning to look at Hinata. She was obviously worried about Naruto but now wasn't the time to comfort her or worry. There was nothing they could do but hope the knuckle head didn't screw up. They had to protect their own team before someone else's. Besides, if he did fail Sasuke was still there. The two of them together are really strong, they had nothing to worry about.. she hoped.

"Looks like we have a lot of blood thirsty ones in this test. Hehe.. this should be fun." She smirked. Shinobu couldn't help but deadpan at the irony. If anything, Anko was the most blood thirsty one there.

"Now! Before we start the second test, there's something I need to hand out." She shouted of the quiet murmurs and whispers of the different teams. "You must sign these agreement forms." She explained.

"What?" Naruto asked, looking puzzled. It was probably on behalf of the village, if other villages didn't sign them, then Konoha would be held accountable for their deaths in the forest. The idea was morbid.. but it made sense.

"There will be deaths in this one, and if you don't sign these, it will all be my responsability." She chuckled. "I'm going to explain the second test, then you can sign theses afterwords. Then, each team will check in at the booth behind me." She started, passing out papers. After the rustling of the papers stilled she began talking again.

"Ok, I will now explain the second test. Simply put, you will attempt the ultimate survival." She said solemnly. Or.. what appeared to be solemn. "First I will explain the area in which it will take place. Around practice arena number forty-four, are forty-four locked gates. There is forest, a river and a tower in the center. From the gates to the tower is about ten kilometers." She explained pulling out a large paper with a map of the area on it so she could point to things. The smarter teams were jotting down all the details they could whether in the dirt or on paper they had brought with them.

"During the survival in here, you will be asked to complete a certain task. Using your many weapons and jutsu, you will compete in a no rules, scroll battle."

"Scroll?" Someone asked, though Shinobu couldn't see who.

"Yes, you will fight over these two scrolls. The "heaven" and the "earth". There are seventy-nine people here, meaning twenty-six teams. Half, or thirteen, will get the "heaven" scroll while the other half will get the "earth" scroll. To pass this test.. your team must make it to the tower.. with BOTH scrolls." She grinned.

"So thirteen teams will lose their scrolls.. half the teams will definitely fail." Sakura pointed out and Shinobu rolled her eyes. _Way to state the obvious. _Maybe she was just irrateable because of this but everytime Sakura spoke it grated on her nerves.

"But there's a time limit. This second test will last one hundred and twenty hours.. or five days." Anko explained.

"Five days?" Ino screeched from behind them and Shinobu covered her ears. Her outburst was quickly followed by Choji shouting about dinner. Shinobu would bet her life that Shikamaru has thought troublesome at least ten times since this explanation began.

"You're on your own." Anko stated, about the food Shinobu assumed. "The forest is full of food, just watch out for the man-eating beasts, poisonous insects, poisonous plants.." She drawled.

"And thirteen teams is not likely. As the days go on the distance to the goal will become farther, and time to rest will become shorter. That, and the area is crawling with enemies, you won't get much sleep." She spoked. "So not only will some fail from losing their scroll, some will fail due to the harshness of the course itself." She smiled. "Now I'll explain what will disqualify you. First, those who don't make it to the tower with both scrolls with in the time limit. Second, those who lose a teammate or those who have a teammate killed. As a rule, there is no quitting in the middle. You will be in the forest for five days. Oh, and one more rule. You must not look inside the scrolls until you make it to the tower." She grinned. Something told Shinobu she should trust Anko on that one.

"What happens if you do?" Naruto asked.

"There will be a surprise for anyone who does." She chuckled with a little wink. "A chunin will be asked to handle classified information, this is to test your trust-worthiness. That is it for explanations, when you're ready, exchange the three forms for your scroll. Or four in the case of team Kurenai. Then choose a gate to get ready for the start." She explained before walking towards the booth herself. Before she entered she looked back at everyone standing there.

"A final word of advice.." She paused, letting everyone's eyes gather on her. "Don't die." She said, but there was no tone of joking in her voice.. she was completely serious. It was silly advice if you thought about it.. someone had to die. It was inevitable.

"Alright, it's about time to hand in your forms!" A man grinned drawing curtains on the booth. Probably to make sure no teams knew what scroll the other teams had, or which team member is carrying it.

"I think Shinobu should carry the scroll.. and we should use disguises.." Shino whispered to the rest of team eight.

"Why?" Kiba asked, his pride obviously wounded.

"If we appear weak we'll have more encounters and chances to get scrolls." Shino explained.

"So can I just go as me?" Shinobu asked.

"Ya, that'll work. As for who holds it, they'll think the strongest person on the team will be holding it. They'll immediately assume Kiba has it, or possibly myself." Shino stated as they entered the booth. Shinobu quickly pocketed the scroll befor the team exited. Shino's phrasing making Kiba grin.

"Yahoo! Survival is our specialty, Hinata, don't go soft on us! We'll definitely do this." Kiba grinned.

"Oi! Examiner!" A random boy yelled out when everyone was gettin assigned their gates.

"What?" Anko asked, eyebrow raised.

"That team has four people, they have an unfair advantage! They should have some other challenge to make things even!" The shouted, earning several nods of agreement. Team eight immediately froze, Hinata looking extremely nervous.

"Yah! Why do they get an extra person!" Another girl joined in.

"Well that's one more person they have to conceal, it's easier to travel secretly in small groups." Anko tried, she didn't particularily want to harm her own team.

"So? They'll get more sleep because they have more people to take shifts, they'll have an advantage in battles because of numbers and now instead of a 33% chance of finding the person with the right scroll we'll only have a 25% chance!" The boy growled, a small smirk underlying his demeaning tone.

"Fine.. Team eight, you'll be split in half. I want half of you at gate 16, the other half at gate 29. You'll be starting roughly twenty kilometers apart." Anko sighed and team eight exchanged glances while the boy looked on, his expression smug.

"Just stick to the plan, we can go in our pairs. Kiba and I will go to gate 16, you two can go to 29. We'll take a right diagonal into the forest, you a left. That way we should meet up along the way to the tower." Shino muttered.

"Alright.. if both pairs try and get both scrolls we can get more enemies out, if not we'll just ambush from the tower." Shinobu added in a hushed tone. They all nodded before going their seperate ways, receiving sympathetic glances from the other Konoha shinobi. They must have assumed it was a death sentence. Naruto just grinned and gave them a thumbs up causing Hinata to blush.

"Everyone follow your instructor and go to your gates! We will start in thirty minutes!" Anko shouted.

* * *

><p>Gate 27: Shikamaru, Choji, Ino.<p>

"Risking our lives.. this sucks but we'll have to do it." Shikamaru grinned slightly, thinking about which teams would be best to target, so far Naruto's team seemed like the best. He'd go after team eight.. but Asume wouldn't want that.

* * *

><p>Gate 16: Kiba, Shino<p>

"We need to move as fast as possible in the beginning. That boy from earlier was right, we can rest up once we're together but we're vulnerable now. If we keep course Hinata's byakuugan will find us." Shino stated, Kiba nodding as he focused on the gate.

* * *

><p>Gate 12: Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke<p>

"Ok! I won't lose! I'll kick anyone's ass who gets near me!" Naruto shouted, giving the middle finger to the gate. Sakura glared at him while Sasuke stood in silence, trying to figure out the best course of action.

* * *

><p>Gate 20: The Sound Nin Trio<p>

_Hehehe.. it's finally here.. the chance to fulfill our mission. _Dosu thought, smiling under his bandages.

* * *

><p>Gate 38: Kabuto's team.<p>

"We'll split up once we enter.. I'll be going after Uchiha's team." Kabuto ordered.

* * *

><p>Gate 6: Gaara, Temari, Kankuro.<p>

_Of course the other teams.. But I'm also afraid of being with him for five days.. _Kankuro thought, warily glancing at Gaara

* * *

><p>Gate 41: Neji, Lee, Tenten<p>

_I'll do my best! Gai-sensei!_ Lee thought, his eyes shining with unshed tears.

* * *

><p>Gate 15: Mysterious Grass Nin Trio.<p>

"We're allowed to kill from here on out, so it'll make things easier." The one with the long tongue spoke, his teammate nodding.

"So we go after the rookies."

* * *

><p>Gate 29: Hinata, Shinobu<p>

"W-we can do this." Hinata smiled, watching Shinobu quickly change her appearance much to the shock of the instructor they were following.

"Yup, I know we can, we just need to move quickly and meet up with Shino and Kiba as quickly as we can. After a couple of hours of travel we should start using byakuugan. We can rest when we're together, we'll have an advantage when it comes to sleep." Shinobu grinned earning a quick nod. Quickly she tied up her hair into one long pony tail, she didn't want it getting in the way.

"W-what should I look like?" Hinata asked, a little unsure of herself.

"Well, you're going to want to mask your eyes since they give away your strength. Maybe we could just go as twins? Try looking similar to me. We're guarunteed to be targeted at least once with this appearance." She stated and Hinata nodded quickly morphing into Shinobu. The only difference being their eyes. While Shinobu's held their deep onyx, Hinata's were tinted from her byakuugan since she didn't want to put too much chakra into the jutsu. Her eyes were a dark purple.

The two watched anxiously as the instructor pulled out a key and began to undo the chains holding the gate shut. They both checked quickly to make sure that their weapons were ready and nothing would hinder them when they traveled.

"The second test of the chunin exam.." Anko's voice echoed around the gates, Shinobu immediately grinned, imagining how loud she would be had they been standing next to her. "NOW BEGINS!"

"Alright.. we can do this.." Shinobu grinned, both girls nodded before swiftly running through the gate.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And.. I have another cliffy. If I made it any longer we'd hit way over 5000 words because I wouldn't be able to stop. I promise a quick update though, not like last time I swear XD Hope you enjoyed it :D**

* * *

><p><strong>Neko Morie: <strong>OMG YAY! A song :P Thanks so much :D I appreciate it.

* * *

><p><strong>Mi-chan1991: <strong>School does that :P Omg.. I don't think I could do that... Shinobu.. beaing self-absorbed and duck-butted... omfg.. XD

* * *

><p><strong>Alli ate Sora-Sorry Roxas: <strong>Gotta love mental images :P Don't die though! Well then magnets suck XD Hurmm... I wonder.. XD

* * *

><p><strong>DutchyPuppy: <strong>Evil forest indeed :D and yes, I updated, Anko is awesome as are fishsticks.. which remind me of kisame. hope you get better soon!

* * *

><p><strong>little firework: <strong>I tried to get it out quickly :P life gets in the way sometimes XD thank you.

* * *

><p><strong>XxInuzukaxX: <strong>Woooot :D I love french but it doesn't help that I already have a headache DX haha, a review can't suck :P Thank you for 's one of my favourite songs :P I couldn't let a main character walk away on a question. neva'! Hurm.. Maybe it his? There are a lot of red-heads with tattoos on their foreheads after all XD :3 Haha, school sucks but the camping trip was amazing :D

* * *

><p><strong>chibichibi98: <strong>Thanks! :D I definitely agree, their just so awesome together XDDDDDD mwehehe. Thank you.

* * *

><p><strong>xxpaperheartxx: <strong>thank you :P I definitely tried my best :D That'll be interesting :P

* * *

><p><strong>ThePhoenixOfTears: <strong>*looks at review* ... O.o.. *looks again* ... O.o *pulls out leg rest and grabs a cup of coffee then looks again* much better :D lol :D Canoeing and Kayaking are both tons of fun but a load of work on the arms. yay necks :D See .. I'm HORRIBLE with procrastination.. last year I did everything half assed and still did good in school, now I'm actually trying to do all my work but my brain is fighting me on it. It's like it doesn't want me to work :P I'm only worried about grade 12 because as long as I understand everything it's grade 12 that will make the biggest difference in university applications :P Ya, but we also have to remember that it might not be Naruto who changes his mind anymore. Shinobu is here too. Shinobu and Naruto have a lot of things that are a like so there is a big chance that Shinobu might be the one to get rid of the stick *the one up his rear end I mean* lol :P Ya, Naruto definitely does that to people :P 5,7,5 ... like.. I can't even explain past that lol my brain died XD it's all about the syllables maaaaaan *holds up peace sign* :P lol. Yup :/ we need her for the plot -.- stupid future plot that needs mika ... grrr...

Haha, I really don't like that song :P It reminds me of "TGIF" and "SHIT" *that's not a curse* "Thank god it's friday" and "sorry hun it's thursday" loool. I have my moments of feeling awesome but most of the time I wish I lived in the world of Naruto or one of the other awesome books I read. I think it'd be more enjoyable. I definitely like doing that. it's like *sitting in english class while teacher babbles on about stuff i already know* "Miyuki?" "Huh what?" "What's the answer?" "urm.. I don't know.. I was dreaming about saving this little old lady from becoming an excuse of Kakashi sempai." "Pardon?" "... the answer is in medias res..." "Good." "tee hee.. come come paradise." "what?" OH JUST LEAVE ME ALONE AND PICK ON SOMEONE ELSE I ANSWERED!" "er... ok then.." well that was random.. o.o... == :P That's the problem though, because things change it gets complicated. I have to figure out what all WILL change. Will Gaara become better? Will someone die? Like... how am I going to do this O.o... so much thought. I love hedley. The singer's voice is amazing. I saw that review XD It made my day :D wooow O.o you passed the limit? holy fudge monkeys! I really appreciated that :) Haha, the competition may be in either one, I'm actually thinking it should be in mirror. The winner will get a cameo :D or something.. not really sure yet XD

Aww.. well I hope your mood gets better soon :( She is actually a lot like Itachi. She has fairly good foresight but she also has very good instincts. Yes, the dread was well placed but I feel the need to bring up something that not many people have thought about yet.. Orochimaru is after the sharingan right? Everyone seems to forget.. Shinobu is an Uchiha too.. mwahahahaha! ;D Neji really needed a dumb moment :D Facepalming and deadpanning are awesome :D Hitami :D The one character who manages to make her way into almost every single story I'll ever write. Yup, that's Naruto for you. Haha, but a kiss seems friendly ;D but ya, interaction between the siblings other than fighting and kissing starts now.O.o.. Itachi being Naruto's anbu guard. Good potentially happen. But.. Naruto and Shinobu didn't become friends until after the massacre. But considering they were both in roughly the same area.. you're too good at figuring stuff out XD Haha, your grammar is fine, pre is before. No clones for Naruto :P but Shino is really nice :D and he knows her well and is smart enough to figure out how to make sure his entire team passes. Naruto.. as much as he'd be a great inspirational speaker.. i never could imagine him as hokage because of all the paper work and brains needed XD Can you imagine him sitting at a desk assigning missions and thinking through which team would be best where?Anko is awesome sauce XD Haha, it's not that small :P Mirror review was EPIC. :D Thanks haha, it ended up being way later *sooo many reviews of my own that I had to write, I had over 20 updates from stories to review too XD* but here we are :D


	26. The Song That Never Ends

**A/N: Oh look, life got in the way again! Tatu - not gonna get us is stuck in my head right now O.o Along with "gay bar" but ya, work is nuts and homework is on overload. :P Also, I have a bit of a challenge for you all, if you're up to it. I want to hear your ideas for Shinobu couples (post-shippuuden). It doesn't have to be an obvious couple like NarutoxShinobu, it could be ChojixShinobu or SuigetsuxShinobu. Anybody. Even something odd like SasuxShinobu or ItaxShinobu *just provide good reasoning*. All I want is for you to pick what Shinobu couple YOU would like to see in this story. I also want a reason why. The person with the best answer (not the one I prefer but who answered the best) is going to receive a guest appearance in the later chapters :D **

* * *

><p><strong>It's all over the place - POV <strong>

***pov switches indicated by line, along with time jumps***

"So basically everyone is headed to the tower right?" Kiba said, casually petting Akamaru while he wondered how the girls were doing. Shino confirmed with a small nod though his mind set was very similar. They had both changed their appearances so they were decently smaller, it looked like neither had any muscle mass and Akamaru had shrunk into a teacup version of himself.

"Then setting traps near here would be best." Kiba stated. His eyes narrowed as he noticed the presence near them. Shino also noticed the two of them acting as if they didn't know. Part of him was glad that Hinata wasn't here when an ear piercing scream filled the air, one of their traps coming to life. Hinata probably wouldn't have liked that very much. Hopefully this team had the right scroll.

"Leaf village jumping leaches will sense life forms and attack in a group. Five minutes of sucking and you'll be in the next world. Realizing that and setting traps where the enemy might escape to.. ONE DOWN!" Kiba grinned as the three ninja's were pulled into a large net.

"!"

* * *

><p>"T-that was a human scream right..? I'm starting to get a little nervous.." Sakura winced as the scream echoed through the trees.<p>

"This.. This is nothing Sakura-chan!" Naruto grinned, trying to keep the spirit up. After a moment of silence he sighed.

"I gotta take a piss." He mumbled, moving towards a near by bush and fiddling with his fly, trying to get it down.

"What are you doing in front of a lady? DO THAT IN THE BUSHES!" Sakura screeched, hammering him over the head. _If it was Sasuke-kun that would be ok.. hehe..hehe_

"Ouuuuuch!" Naruto cried out, holding the sore skin. Sakura and Sasuke stood in silence while they waited for the loud blond.

"Man, so much came out! I feel great now!" Naruto grinned.

"I said not in front of a lady!" Sakura shouted, lifting her first to hit him over the head again. Before she could though, Sasuke jumped at him, sending him flying into a nearby tree.

"S-sasuke-kun..wasn't that just a little bit too far?" Sakura asked, looking warily in-between the two.

"What the hell are you doing?" Naruto growled, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Where's the real Naruto?" Sasuke glared.

"What..are you saying all of a sudden?" He asked, looking at Sasuke.

"Your shuriken holster is on your left side, he's right handed. And the main difference, you don't have the scratch on your cheek that the examiner gave him. You're a fake loser who's worse than Naruto at transforming."

"Unlucky! You figured it out.. oh well!" A shinobi said, appearing in a puff of smoke in the place where Naruto had been. "Which one of you has the scroll? I'll just take it by force then!"

* * *

><p>"D-did you hear that?" Hinata asked, panting slightly as they darted from tree to tree. Shinobu was grateful for the time they spent with Akamaru in the woods now, their foot steps were silent despite the twigs and leaves.<p>

"Yes.. looks like this has started. It came in the direction of Kiba and Shino.. we should move quick.. they probably have a scroll." Shinobu spoke, keeping her eyes ahead as she bit her lip. She didn't like being seperated, she couldn't protect them if she needed to. She didn't even want to consider the possibility of that scream belonging to one of them.

"Ya.. we should get one too just incase." Hinata mumbled.

"Well, it's only been half an hour, we'll probably be attacked soon. The closer we get to the tower the more teams we'll see." Shinobu grinned and as if one cue they heard a ruffling near them. There was another team traveling near them. "Speak of the devil.." She murmured before indicating with her finger that they should be silent. Hinata nodded and they continued traveling, keeping their senses alert.

"H-"

"Got it." She whispered, cutting Shinobu off. Shinobu smiled and they both immediately hid, Shinobu scaling a tree while Hinata hid under a bush.

"Choji! People are going to here you!" Someone, probably Ino, whispered harshly. It was plain stupidity in Shinobu's eyes. Her whispering was too loud.. it would alert anyone nearby, nevermind the munching. She started fingerspelling towards Hinata, unsure if she should focus on her own team and get a scroll or help out her friends who were obviously having issues. Shikamaru's eyebrow was visibly twitching as he scanned the area.

'_Maybe we should help them.. it's up to you.. but it might be useful to keep Konoha ninja's as allies through this. Like in real missions.' _Hinata signaled earning a slight nod from Shinobu before they both revealed themselves silently, the disfuntional team not noticing. Shinobu held up her hand to Hinata to get her stop as a small grin spread across her face. This would be the perfect chance to get them to realize their error.

Within moments both Ino and Shikamaru were standing frigid with kunai to their necks. Choji staring in awe with a chip hanging from his lip. Shinobu could practically hear Shikamaru's brain reeling, trying to think of ways to get them out of their current predicament.

"You know.. you really shouldn't make yourselves so obvious. You'll lure predators." Shinobu growled, making the pitch of her voice go up an octive so they hopefully wouldn't recognize her.

"Troublesome.." Shikamaru whispered just loud enough for Shinobu to hear him.

"W-wait.. you're wearing Konoha headbands! We're on the same team!" Ino tried, obviously nervous herself as her right knee was trembling slightly.

"Anko never mentioned a thing about village teams in the rules. Simply; don't die and get to the tower with two scrolls. It's every trio for themselves." Hinata grinned, Shinobu could tell she was trying extremely hard not to stutter because of how she clenched her empty hand. Shikamaru noticed too, but didn't show it. Shinobu grinned slightly at her teammate, shocked at her acting abilities.

"B-but.." Ino faded out.

"Luckily for you.." Shinobu grinned slightly letting her voice return to normal, "..t-they've never mentioned a rule about friends, n-nor do we n-need one." Hinata smiled.

"Wait.. what?" Choji asked, his expression changing from afraid and guilty to confused and thoughtful.

"Shinobu.. Hinata?" Shikamaru asked after a moment. Ino and Choji looked dead confused.

"Shinobu-kun is a boy! And Hinata has white eyes? Have you gone stupid Shika-kun?" Ino looked at her teammate. Shikamaru shook his head slightly before going to explain.

"Tell me now.. how many ninja are normally on a team?" Shikamaru asked slowly.

"Three.. What's the point of this?" Ino asked, obviously annoyed.

"Just listen, now how many two people teams do we know?" He asked again.

"No one.. well.. team eight got split-.. oooooooh..!" She grinned before looking confused again.

"We're under a genjutsu Ino-chan.." Shinobu finally supplied.

"Ooh.. but.. why are you a girl?" Ino asked.

"G-girls tend to be under-estimated." Hinata spoke before Shinobu could slip up, earning a grateful smile.

"Hey! I'm strong!" Ino protested.

"Yes, but if you were attacked people would most likely attack Shikamaru first." Shinobu replied simply.

"He, or in this case she, has a point. Stronger male shinobi won't attack girls, some out of respect and how they were raised, others simply because they want a strong opponent. A truly smart shinobi won't under-estimate any ninja though, especially based on appearance." Shikamaru explained, his stance not relaxing even though he knew who they were, unlike his teammates.

"But uh.. why did you add boobs?" Ino asked, tilting her head slightly as she poked Shinobu in the chest. Shinobu's face immediately burst into flame as she staggered backwards slightly.

"U-uh.. it w-wouldn't be realistic if I didn't? Most girls have.. u-uh.. boobs.." Shinobu stuttered, obviously flustered.

"Oh.. that makes sense... are you ok?" Ino asked, reaching a hand to her forehead.

"Ya.. just.. we should probably be moving. We've been loud and not moving, for all we know we're being watched." Shinobu explained quickly, thankful her excuse sounded realistic.

"Should we move together..?" Choji asked, putting away his chips now that he had recovered.

"Well.. it would give us an advantage in numbers but it will also be harder to hide. We'll also need to get another scroll." Shinobu reasoned.

"Well it's only been an hour, we'll see if we can meet up with Shino and Kiba. If we do then we'll split up, until then it will be good to have the extra guards, more sleep. If we're lucky we'll be fine when it comes to scrolls." Shikamaru said, he was definitely going to try to stay with this team, they seemed to have a better grasp on what they were doing.

"A-alright. If we can't get the scrolls we can always set traps a-at the tower. All t-the teams head that w-way with both their s-scrolls anyway, right?" Hinata repeated their teams earlier suggestions and after a quick minute of covering tracks they were off. Shikamaru's team was a bit louder than they were but it wasn't anything to bad. They were ninja after all.

* * *

><p>Kiba and Shino stopped, panting slightly. Akamaru sniffing the air around them.<p>

"This doesn't make sense.. unless they got delayed by something they should be here by now. This is roughly where we would end up meeting right? I can't smell them at all." Kiba growled, messing with his hair.

"They'll be fine, if anything they're resting, gathering supplies or getting a scroll. Just believe in them. We'll keep moving and-" Shino paused, quickly falling to the ground silently behind a bush. Kiba quickly followed with Akamaru.

"What..?" Kiba mouthed but before Shino could reply a voice echoed around them.

"You kids shouldn't be wandering around in the open. You're being to cocky for first timers." A tall boy spoke calmly, his team just a step behind him. Several feet to their left was another team, a small boy with shaggy red hair, a taller boy with an oddly shaped hood and purple face paint, and a girl with four blond spikey pigtails. A large fan strapped to her back.

Kiba looked down from the scene as Akamaru whimpered, shaking slightly under his hood. That smaller team was stupid, they were going to get seriously hurt or worse.

Shino looked questioningly at the dog but knew better than to say anything, there was obviously some sort of a threat nearby as the dog had continued to silently shake now. Somehow he doubted it was the tall boy, maybe it was the aura that small boy was giving off.. but he doubted the red-haired boy was as helpless as Kiba was probably assuming.

"Look here.. we'll make a deal. Give us your scroll and we won't kill you." The boy continued, obviously baffled by the silence. After a little longer he was starting to get nervous.

"Seriously, do you want to die or not? Hand over the scroll! It'll be bad for you if you don't." The boy shouted. Still the red-head said nothing, his arms remaining crossed over his chest and his eyes remained unblinking, watching the team. It was kind of creepy really.

"Fine.. but you asked for it." The guy growled, pulling what appeared to be an umbrella from his back and throwing it into the air. His hands formed a quick seal before he muttered something neither of the boys from team eight could hear. As quick as a flash it was raining needles, but that wasn't what caused Kiba to gasp. While the two taller of the sand trio were out of range of the needles. The red-haired boy didn't even flinch, when the needles rained down sand engulfed him in what looked like a sheild. The sand kept extending to block every needle, covering, eventually, all but his left eye.

"W-what?" The boy shouted in alarm, not expecting the defense. The suna ninja hadn't even made a handseal! The boy didn't say anything though, just watched in silence. After no other attacks the boy lifted his arm, sand rushing forward and eating at the ankles of the taller ninja. He immediately struggled, crying out as the sand covered everything excluding his face. Kiba watched in awed silence as the red-haired ninja lifted him up into the air before clenching his fist. Blood splattered across the ground, hitting the umbrella that the boy had picked up and held above his head instead of his skin. It soaked through the sand which was now creeping slowly towards the two remaining ninja.

"P-please! S-spare us we'll give you our scroll." One of them begged, running forward with a slight bow and placing the scroll down.

"G-gaara.. that's enough.. we don't even need any more scrolls.. we could just let them go." The blond girl finally spoke looking shaky at the sight of her teammate. She was ignored however as the screaming shinobi were raised into the air and promptly crushed. Kiba watched in horror, wishing more than anything for a chance to run. He couldn't face that. He pet Akamaru in silence, his hearing fading in and out as the red-head talked to his teammates.

_He would kill his own teammates? _He thought, wide eyed as he threatened the taller boy of his team. They started walking away and just as he thought he would finally be free of this aura he froze. That boy was looking right where they were hiding. _Shit.. we need to get out of here.. _before he could think anything else however, the red-head and his team were gone.

* * *

><p>"We still haven't seen them.. or any other teams..." Shinobu groaned slightly, it had to be at least supper time and they had made no progress. They backtracked slightly to see if they had missed Kiba and Shino but there was nothing.<p>

"Maybe we should rest? Most teams will rest closer to night time.. it'll be a good chance to get a scroll, where as it will be easier to hide flames in the daylight." Shikamaru suggested earning a nod. They continued looking for what felt like thirty minutes before finding a big tree with thick concealing branches. They were big enough that they could sleep in the tree without worrying about falling or being seen.

"This is perfect.. Hinata and I will go hunting. Alright?" Shinobu spoke adjusting her hair which had fallen out of it's ponytail.

"Alright, we'll make sure that everything is set up to rest. We'll each get eight hours of sleep if everyone has a two hour shift." Shikamaru nodded before dragging his team up the tree.

"The r-river is only five minutes this way." Hinata smiled, the veins around her eyes melting back into her skin.

"Ok, we can get some fish then. Hopefully Shikamaru will get some wood." Shinobu grinned, starting into a sprint with Hinata right at her heels.

"How many fish d-do you think we'll be able to catch?" Hinata asked.

"Hopefully five. It shouldn't be too hard. I used to fish down at the lake. Though I guess moving water would be a bit more tedious." Shinobu said, thinking back to the days when she wasn't with Naruto. She fished by hand then though, and it took her a long time. Hopefully they'd be quicker with two people.

"Are we just going to l-lure them out and throw k-kunai?" Hinata asked

"Ya, and if that doesn't work I'll just swim." She grinned, stripping down to just her shorts and her tanktop when they got there.

"H-how are we going to lure them?"

"Lure who... us?" A voice chuckled from behind them.

"Oh no..." Shinobu groaned slightly. She and Hinata immediately grabbing kunai.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Mwehehe. So I'm in a happy mood :D I've booked my hotel with some friends to Anime North (an anime convention in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) and though it's a long way away I'm really excited. I'm going to be cosplaying as Sora from Kingdom Hearts while my girlfriend is going as Riku. We'll be doing a skit if all goes well :D So my random questions of the chapter, have you ever been to an anime convention? Did you cosplay or do a skit? And are you going to the 2012 Anime North :P (O.o.. I'm not a creep? Just curious haha :D It's all I've been thinking about)**

* * *

><p><strong>Alli ate Sora-Sorry Roxas: <strong>YA! EVIL DUDE! I'm glad you liked the plan XD Now I have a random epic thing I felt the need to tell you *now realizes it's a/n but doesn't care* I'M COSPLAYING AS SORA XD mwehehehe. It's in your name so ya XD I'm getting the keyblade and everything, 40 inches. LOL. Merci pour la review :D I have everything planned ;D haha but ya, it would be priceless.

* * *

><p><strong>Neko Morie: <strong>I was originally working for my dance at first, now I'm working to go to an anime convention *so much repetition of this lol* and I need hotel costs, train ticket costs, the weekend past and a cosplay PLUS spending money, so the hours in my mind are TOTALLY worth it XDNobu-chan will HOPEFULLY realize this.. eventually :P thanks for the review :D

* * *

><p><strong>Mi-chan1991: <strong>HAHA XD ya, I can't imagine two duck butts, the world would probably implode XD Hopefully tons XD Thanks for the review! :D

* * *

><p><strong>DutchyPuppy: <strong>FOREST OF HAPPINESS AND SQUIRRELS.. well.. there are squirrels xD Dragon ball z reference LOOOOOL. Gaara the baby panda *omake ideas MWAHAHAHAHA* lol :D thanks for the review.

* * *

><p><strong>XxInuzukaxX: <strong>Awwww, well I hope you get better :P I'm definitely better now. I feel like uber happiness is trying to make up for everything. Kiba is awesome like that and Anko is creepy XD Haha, I dislike him too, I can't take the credit for the everyone's teams idea though. That part was done in the manga as well. I love how Hinata can actually be more confident in this, I always wanted her to be like this.. and now she can! :D

* * *

><p><strong>ThePhoenixOfTears: <strong>It's ok :P Tired and depressed is a familiar feeling XD Naruto definitely helps XD aww :( I don't really know either so I'm just making sure to get all my maths and science :P I figure if all else fails I'll go to med school. But performing would be my number one bet XD Aah.. I remember mentioning trying to stop procrastinating, I'm actually worse than non-existant with improvement.. it's gotten worse! lol. Aah the joy of ADD and OCD. Makes everything tenX harder lol. Random is fun XD haha. Hedley is definitely a good band, not my favourite but they have so many catchy songs XD Aaah, I relate well with Shika, cloud watching sleeping and lazy are my hobbies XD mwahahaha. The contest is above :P A little creativity. Not all that much grammar and well.. humour maybe? Who knows XD I don't really know what type of answers to expect lol. I can't wait to see your answer then XD

She's kind of, but she's herself as well :P They're just similar. Ya.. no slaughter from Shinobu *cough* yet *cough. JK! XD Sexist Pedo, I didn't really think of that because he had Anko for some time. Hurm.. Shinobu hasn't activated.. huuuurm. You're actually very close to what I was thinking. If the people of Konoha don't realize she exists, neither will he. Of course, if he does notice, *SPOILER* then it would be a smart move on his part to take him to try and lure her. Then he gets both right? That might not be a spoiler Idk yet :P Still deciding some details *SPOILER OVER* Gotta love Hitami XD Lol finding nemo, well I think Itachi was because it explains how he already knew Naruto's name in canon, if it did happen in this story then chances are that Itachi knew about Shinobu already. Ya, Shikamaru :P Good ol' assistant, troublesome for him of course XD Go anko! XD Shinobu seems to have a slight hatred for Sakura, mainly out of slight jealous. Sakura gets to hang out with her brothers every day when she barely gets to talk to them most of the time. That and she doesn't believe Sakura is strong enough to protect them if need be, instead they're injuring themselves protecting her. Orochi is confusing XD The grass nin was a guy O.o Team Asuma does clash but they learn to care for each other. Team Kakashi clashed too. So did Team Kurenai a bit if you think about it. Kinda like Team Sarutobi (Jiraiya, Tsunade, Orochi). They all do XD but it normally works for the better. Oh it's ok :P I hope your mood improves though! Team Kurenai has the heaven scroll :P Orochi and two Uchihas.. huuuuuuurm O.o I will update, I'm always working on it but sometimes i have to re-write or don't get more than 10 minutes to write. Lol. It takes me hours to write a chapter, at least 3 on average :P unless it's short. Thanks for the review! :D


	27. The Shipped Gold Standard

**A/N: So this whole chappy was typed one-handed thanks to my attention hog of a dog ( lol rhyme) he keeps nudging my laptop and hand whenever i stop petting him. it's ridiculous! So ya, one-handed typing ftw. Also a note, I've started on a kingdom hearts fic (NOT POSTED YET) while working on this, because hopefully when this is done, or closer to my next fic won't have these gigantic gaps. It wasn't like this when i started but life is annoying me.**

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

"No, the fish, but we could always revert to cannibalism and eat you for dinner if you don't scram." Shinobu spat, looking the ninja up and down. They were from the rain village and each sported an oddly shaped mask. Probably to breath under water and or prevent them from inhaling toxic fumes.

There were only two ninja there though.. teams of three. Chances were that Choji's team had the third, not something Shinobu particularily cared for. Though she was smart enough to realize what this trio was attempting to do. They assumed that this was a group of three and had sent one of their ninja after the lone ninja from their team. Little did they know they probably sent that ninja to his death.

"For such a little girl you sure have some big words." The taller of the two ninja chuckled.

"For such an old ninja you sure aren't cautious enough." Hinata hissed from behind him, letting her mind go blank and reverting to her old training. If Shinobu was going to act like this, she would too. The ninja's eyes widened slightly as he felt the kold of a shuriken press against his throat.

"Unlucky.. two times in one day? I'm not alone this time though.. lucky." He spoke before practically melting into a puddle of water. Shinobu didn't even bother calling for Hinata to move back closer to her, within moments they were back to back each sporting Shinobu's usual gymnastic style.

The two subtly nodded before flipping at a slight curve towards the one ninja who was closer to them, each taking a side before skidding to a halt just behind him and converting styles. Throwing punches and quickly disabling his left arm before he realized the importance of dodging. Shinobu had even managed to get a few good hits. They continued in this fashion, forcing him to dodge backwards. There was a small clump of trees where they could corner him.

"Hinata?"

"G-got it!" They had learned how to cue each other's actions without actually giving anything away and while they occasionally messed up, if you payed attention, they both sighed in relief when they each did the correct action. Hinata quickly swiped backwards, knocking the feet of the other ninja out from under him. _Did he honestly think he could sneak up on us? _Shinobu shook her head, looking back to her enemy who's lack of focus honestly bugged her. She quickly pulled out three shuriken and took an unfamiliar stance to Hinata though she paid it no mind as she was too busy dodging senbon her attacker carried. Shinobu twisteed her arms back before bursting chakra through a small wire directing the shuriken around both the ninja and the tree several times when they implanted themselves into the ground behind the tree.

"Want to give up your scroll yet?" Shinobu asked, smiling sweetly as she would if she were asking Naruto if he wanted ramen before going to the academy. The ninja didn't respond, instead, uselessly squirming like a hamster in the grasp of a small child. Shinobu sighed before pulling the wire into her mouth and making her hand signs. She really needed to work on better jutsu, only having one good one wasn't going to help her any.

"Katon! Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" She cried out, wincing slightly as the wires grew hot on her tongue and the light of the flames lit up her skin as they snaked down the wire, igniting the ninja instantly along with a large portion of the tree. After a moment she finally released it, watching the scorched corpse collapse to the ground leaving the outline of a body imprinted into the tree.

Resisting the urge to vomit she searched the body and grinned. Anko must have put some sort of protection jutsu on the scrolls because there was an unharmed earth scroll sitting their, hers for the taking. They had two scrolls now, even if Kiba and Shino hadn't got one as long as they managed to meet up they would pass this section of the exam. As quickly as the smile lit up her face it was darkened when a high pitched scream echoed from behind her. She whipped her head around just in time to see Hinata crash through a tree quickly followed by the other rain ninja, running with a slight limp towards her with a kunai at the ready.

"No..!" She jumped forward, running as fast as she could, a small pain quickly weighing down her chest. How could she completely ignore her teammate? She should have been watching her. _This is my fault.. if she dies.. it will be my fault. _She growled, forcing her legs to move faster just in time to punch his fist away from Hinata, her knuckles clashing painfully against the metal of the kunai.

"Unlucky.." the ninja murmered, looking in shock at the blood splattered on his arm, the kunai lay forgotten in a small puddle of red.

"T-thanks." Hinata whispered, wide eyed.

"No problem.." Shinobu muttered, slowly looking away from her wound and back towards the remaining ninja. She had underestimated them. She had let Hinata face him alone. She hadn't been paying attention. She had almost lost a friend..

"Bye-bye.." the ninja grinned before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"W-what..? W-where'd he go?" Hinata stammered, re-activating her eyes to look around, her expression saying he was long gone.

"It's fine.. I got a scroll from his partner anyway." Shinobu grinned slightly only to feel something quickly crash into her stomache. Her eyes blurred from tears as the wind was knocked out of her. It felt as if her head was spinning and she couldn't feel the ground, she could tell her feet were dangling.. but.. from what?

* * *

><p>Team Asuma stared blankly at the spot where the bleeding ninja had vanished from. He had come, practically waltzing, into their camp declaring battle only to freeze on the spot and splutter. Something about only being one and teams being against the rules. Before they could even say anything a kunai clipped him in the side and he whispered something and disappeared in a poof of spoke. Lee then pranced from behind them, said something about luck and youth, and ran away. The trio was nothing short of stunned.<p>

"Should we keep setting up camp..?"

"Ya I guess s-" Shikamaru paused noticing a rather bright light emitting from the river. Fire?

"So that's where the rest of the team is.. Shinobu-kun will get them no problem! Hopefully they'll get a scroll." Ino giggled.

"Shouldn't we be-" Choji paused to eat some chips, "-more concerned with our own team's scrolls?"

"I can't pass if Shinobu doesn't! He might hate me or something!" Ino looked honestly shocked that Choji would even suggest the idea.

"You know.. he isn't like that. If anything he'd congratulate you." Shikamaru sighed, gathering more wood.

"Oh..." Ino mumbled.

"I don't get why you and Sakura like them.. I mean.. sure Shinobu's nice enough but.. you don't even know them personally besides the odd lunch together as teams or sparring. Even then they tend to hold back their real strengths." Shikamaru thought outloud.

"He's kind and really sweet and polite and he's strong and he's a ninja and he's hot as hell!" Ino raged.

"Ya..ya... sorry I asked."

"Hmph.."

* * *

><p>"Alright we're at the tower.. looks like we need to go into one of the door things.. but.. how are we supposed to meet up with Shinobu and Hinata? I get it's only the first night.. but I figured they would keep going if they didn't get here." Kiba grumbled.<p>

"Well we're in a safe zone so we can sleep, they probably teamed up with another trio from our village for convenience reasons. I think Team Asume was closest to their gate. Let's just hope they get here safe. We already have the scrolls so we just need them." Shino sighed, he was worried too but less inclined to show it.

The two genin stood up from the bench they were sitting on and moving to one of the many rooms where they could sleep. As they moved down the hall, assuming they were the only team there, they were shaken by the sight of one other team. One team with an all too familiar red-headed ninja.

"I don't like the idea of sleeping under the same roof as him..." Kiba whispered once they had closed and locked the door.

"Hm.." Shino sighed. "If it makes you feel better we could take shifts. Technically we have three of us." Kiba nodded quickly before laying out his things. This was going to be a long four days.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry it's short! So I'm going to let people put in answers until the next chapter is out but so far Naruto and Neji are in the lead followed closely by Gaara, Choji and Juugo. The following is an omake for a couple I will never do for the sole reason.. well.. just no. XD Enjoy none the less**

* * *

><p><strong>*Warning; the following contains humourous incest.*<strong>

**Note: This is almost like a follow up of my last omake where Shinobu was on a team with Sasuke and Naruto.**

* * *

><p><strong>Omake<strong>

Sasuke growled dejectedly at the ground, kicking the odd rock as he lagged behind his team. Ever since their run in with the mist-ninja's during their last mission Naruto had taken to gloating and it was getting on his nerves. Shinobu remained modest but still teasing. He still wasn't sure if that first encounter since they became a team was real, but he didn't want a repeat.. he.. liked girls.. right?

He watched in silence as they got to the training feild. Kakashi had all of the rookie nine training with each other for the day since the select few of them needed to practice for the chunin exams. He scoffed, he'd be fine. The only one remotely dangerous was the red-head boy from the sand village.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted.

"Hn? What?" He asked, shaking his head as if to clear his thoughts.

"You're paired with Shinobu-ch-kun. He's waiting for you!" Naruto shouted before running over to see Choji. _Ch? Was he about to say chan?.. oh well, probably nothing.. _

"Ready?" Shinobu asked, trying to ignore the two girls watching them. Sasuke did the same. _Shouldn't they be training too?_

"Go Sasuke! Kick his butt!" Sakura cheered, grinning from ear to ear, a slight blush coating her cheeks.

"Go Shinobu!" Ino said simply, adorning a similar grin. Shinobu sighed before slipping into a simple defensive stance, ready to start flipping. The two were soon in a deadly dance of blades and strikes as they maneuvered around each other. Each had their brows furrowed in concentration, refusing to let the other in. The girls silenced, watching in awe. It wasn't long before the entire group watched. They had been fighting for at least five minutes without either landing a single blow.

"Shit.." Sasuke mumbled, more to himself than anything, as his foot stumbled over a rock. When he looked up his eyes widened. While Shinobu hadn't been landing anny hits he hadn't been doing nothing either. _I've been so stupid! He's been hearding me like a sheep! _He growled inwardly as he noticed his back coming closer and closer to a clump of trees.

Shinobu smirked slightly but gasped as his foot hit the same rock as Sasuke's had, only under different circumstances. He had tumbled, tripping forward and crashing straight into Sasuke. Arms flailed as they hit the ground with an echoed *thud*. Dirty rising up in little clouds around them.

It wasn't until Ino squeal that either of them noticed the suggestive position they were in, Shinobu's knee snuggly between Sasuke's legs, a hand on either side of his head. Sasuke's heart pounded in his chest, his hands grasping desperately for some form of support.

"Nii-san..." Shinobu whispered. Has he just heard him right? Sasuke's eyes widened as he contemplated the words he had heard. _Brother.. but.. Itatchi.. I had a twin sister.. but.. she's de- _his words died instantly upon a soft pair of plush lips brushing against his own. Blood rushing through his head, blocking out the outside world. He couldn't even here the squeals, gasps and squeaks of shock coming from their earlier audience. He only heard, tasted, felt Shinobu. Shakily lifting his arms to place them around Shinobu's neck, they moved their lips in unison.

_Family... _Was the sole thought that ran through his head. Not how this was wrong, not how he liked girls, not that his parents had lied. Simply family.. he had family. Someone to trust. But, since when was there such a fine line between trust and lust.. or love for that matter.

He didn't care.

* * *

><p><strong>So ya.. woooot... lol...XD hope you.. uh.. enjoyed?<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>6Fortius9: <strong>Haha sorry bout that. Life.. well she's a bitch sometimes XD

* * *

><p><strong>Alli ate Sora-Sorry Roxas: <strong>Haha, I'm going a skit and HOPEFULLY it'll get recorded so it'll probably be on Riku's youtube account :P I'll post the link when it does. :DShinobu couples are ridiculously hard O.o So far I've been thinking of Neji for some reason. She used to be close to Choji and Shikamaru though, can't forget about them. LOL brick'd

* * *

><p><strong>DutchyPuppy: <strong>Yes.. very... happy *I didn't just cough* -shift eyes-. Aaah XD those two are fun XD I'm really looking forward to this because it's my first one and I'm gonna be squeeeeeeeee. I am woooonderful. Well.. actually I'm confused as hell XD but that's another story. No, I am not school-less :P As much as I would love to run away and join a circus school is my back-up plan XD Grades are good? O.o hahaha, it might be better if I handed my work in though. ^^; Do you go to school too? WAFFLESS XD I luuuuuurve waffles, even better than pancakes XD One problem with that lovely threat suggestion thingy XD The voices have taken over my mind long ago, and they only sing japanese, korean, russian, german and swedish. MWAHAHAHAHA.

* * *

><p><strong>EclipseStripe: <strong>Aaah! Nice to hear from you again.. or.. uh.. read from you? Lmfao XD Haha, I've actually been kinda slow lately but thanks :D Lazyness XD an attribute I love to posses *and love to fan over when Shika is involves LOL* That would be... well It would stump me for a while XD that's for sure. Thinking straight is for rainbow donkeys anyway XD lmfao, thank you for the review :D

* * *

><p><strong>Neko Morie: <strong>I'm so pumped lol. Oh, you in the area? (no need to answer if considered creepy lol) Ya, online counts XD I've been watching skits galore lately to see if they compare at all to what I've written since I'd like mine to be original :P True but I imagine her being female again at some point, like now she's a girl XD COOOKIE XD MWAHAHAHAHA XD thanks for the review *gives slice of cake* :D

* * *

><p><strong>XxInuzukaxX: <strong>Long review XD holy, this is as long as PheonixOfTears reviews lol. Thanks in advanced and on to the reply XD Kami-con? Never heard of it but any con sounds fun to me XD omfg that sounds EPIC XD haha no, Anime North is only in Canada, GTA. lol. Good luck with your cosplay dreams though, it'll happen one day! Ya no O.o I don't think that would have been good O.o Cliffy :P sooowwwy. I liked them teaming up too, different and it's fun XD One answer was what I expected but multiple answers are fun too XD

NejixShinobu: Hurm, you make many valid points here but I have something fun to point out. Two things really. Later on in the story Neji and Hiashi actually trains and Hiashi does show feelings (like family lol) for him. Also, any personality is compatible in my book :P I can make anything work. lol.

KibaxShinobu: Adorable yes, It would definitely be a cutesy relationship almost rivalry like. You also have a point about them feeling like siblings though considering they were friends before hand but Kiba is very straight (not close-minded) in this fic and Shinobu has been a boy to him.

GaaraxShinobu: Haha, but will he become kazekage? that is the question XD I dunno. Long distance sucks but that also opens for many different plot lines, for example, a more in depth life of the suna siblings if Nobu went to suna XD I definitely like this couple idea though, it's up there next to neji. lol

JugoxShinobu: I honestly didn't expect to see this one O.o This couple has a lot of variables but also a lot of good points. I saw it and now I'm like aaaah so many options. It's definitely one to consider.

Thanks so much for the review!

* * *

><p><strong>ThePhoenixOfTears: <strong>No feeling guilty, I completely understand that pain XD lol. ADD definitely does and I have no clue what doug/dog is from O.o confused lol. No bands? hurm. I get what you mean, you're always yourself but with family quirks. :P My own challenge hurm? I accept! *edits profile so I don't forget lol* She's currently in every fic except for a one shot which is done and un-editable and Illusion which I can easily add her to XD Haha ya XD Poor poor shika.

To make them underestimated. They'll be attacked more because they look weaker (more options to get scrolls) but with less force because of underestimation giving them the upper hand. omfg no. Akamaru is not for serving drinks, i meant a teacup as in a smaller dog XD The leeches are attracted to body heat and by the enemy being in the wrong place at the wrong time they attacked and the trap was set up to where the enemy would flee to XD He would be dead O.o that's one of the things I'm fighting with. Should I make him hokage in the future and have him grow up a bit? Or should I have him quit the job or realize he doesn't need it. so many options. Him not making hokage definitely hasn't been done before. Ya XD but I imagine Ino doing that, in fact she may have in canon i'm not sure. XD Unfortunately they didn't have time to plant bugs or anything but it will work out, this was also an elaborate plot to shift things up a bit. I imagined Shika acting like that too, but I'd like to see these teams working together more XD Awkward, yes. Mwahahaha. Cliffy of doom. Gaara doesn't look like a panda to me but I like to tease him XD Haha, the joys of creeping (look up do the creep by the lonely island lol) why would you feel like an imposter? Aah, but you're assuming Shinobu will stick with this team to the incident.. oh well XD you're right anyway. O.o THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH! That song is perfect XD I know exactly when to use it! THANK YOU!

NarutoXShinobu: ya, there's definitely problems with this, she's becoming so close with Hinata i'm not sure if she'd be able to do it. Especially after the partner training. It would definitely help with improvement with both characters. I could almost imagine Hinata realizing it's more admiration and friendship than love. But who knows XD This is definitely the most valid case for this couple I've heard I like it. Original maybe not but it could definitely be original if played the right way.

GarraXShinobu: I like the reasons for this one too but part of me is stumped because, well, not saying where but, Shinobu is gone during that time period too unfortunately lol. It's definitely an option for character developement though. That's the problem I'm having with couples. I can easily imagine them getting to close friend stage,, then there's a big fat brick wall. lol

ShinobuXChoji: I'm glad someone brought this one up. I even figured out Choji's nickname for her later before I even figured out the pairing "Nobu-chan" once he knows she's a she. It would definitely be a cute couple but part of me kinda barfs at the idea. I've always had a soft spot for InoxChoji just because I can imagine them complimenting each other in their own way. InoxShika is my favourite though. Safe and loved is something Shinobu definitely needs though and I can imagine it easily in this couple.

SasukeXShinobu or ItachiXShinobu: While incest could work easily in this plot line because of her lack of family love I really wouldn't want to do this, though I'm completely up for an omake just for Ino and Sakura reaction time XD

ShinobuXAnyGirls: Good point and another type that hasn't been addressed. I agree though, seeing as she has been male for most of this and she relates much better with males I can't imagine any female pairings. Possibly Hinata.. or Ino? but it just wouldn't work out the way I want it to.

ShinobuXShikmaru: I really like that! It makes my day to see someone give a reason for the TemarixShikamaru pairing (never really cared for it) but I may include it instead of the typical InoxShika I go for just because of this XD

OlderxShinobu: I definitely agree with this. None of these even came to my mind for the sole reason they are wayy too unrealistic. It would just never happen. That's why I tend to dislike the SakuraKakashi pair. The only ones I like are the ones that reference Sakura to Rin because they make more sense.

Thanks so much XD I really appreciate all these. You are my best answer so far. Maybe tied with Inuzuka? We'll see, I might just have to include you both lol. I'm a little curious as to why Neji wasn't on your list though? Any particular reason? Thanks for the review XD


	28. Grenade

**A/N: Fun fact for this. Since the holidays are this week I will be updating ALL of my fanfictiction stories at least TWICE. Yes you heard me right. At least EIGHT updates in two weeks. I may also post my new story (a kingdom hearts fic) but since I have two going i'm not sure which one. It will either be in french or english. I have one in each language, different plot lines so I'm not sure. If any of you speak french I'd appreciate your support since it's not my first language. If not, read along with google translate? LMFAO. Onwards in the GIANT author's note.**

**The song is Grenade by Bruno mars because I felt like it represented a lot in this chapter, how Sakura defends Sasuke, how Shinobu feels about Sasuke, how lee is with Sakura.. and I just couldn't come up with anything else.**

**So since this has all been in one word document I finally split the document. It's so much easier to scroll now xD I've been working on my other fics behind the scenes of this one so that i can start weekly updates in a bit and not have to worry about writing 5 chapters in one week xD Fun time! The winner of the couples competition was ThePheonixOfTears who's prize will be mentioned in review response.**

**After consideration my thought lines are stuck between a good number of guys. They all range from the obvious to the "I'd never think of that pairing in a million years" so i'll make it a surprise when we get to that point XD (not that i've figured it out.)**

**I have to thank everyone else for submitting answers because they all helped me a great deal. Also thanks to everyone who's stuck with this story for so long, I know I can be a pain sometimes, leaving cliff hangers, taking forever to update and confusing people but it means a great deal to me to have you all reading and reviewing. I really appreciate it. **

**Another thanks to Gwenny-Dear who gave me a very honest review on her thoughts on my story. While a little pain to my ego was delt with there were a lot of points I'm going to make sure to pay attention to for future stories and while it's far too late to fix this one I appreciate it. Even if you won't see this. Without any further acceptance-like speeches. The chapter!**

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

_"It's fine.. I got a scroll from his partner anyway." Shinobu grinned slightly only to feel something quickly crash into her stomache. Her eyes blurred from tears as the wind was knocked out of her. It felt as if her head was spinning and she couldn't feel the ground, she could tell her feet were dangling.. but.. from what?_

"You ok?" A voice said as she finally felt the ground beneath her feet, swaying ever so slightly she glared, meeting the eyes of a silver haired konoha genin.

"What the hell was that for?" Shinobu growled, letting Kiba's influence over her seep through.

"You're friends with that one blond kid aren't you? He needs your help." The boy said simply.

"What are you talking ab-.. Naruto?" Shinobu question, a small pang hitting her chest. Now Naruto was in trouble, Hinata was by herself and they still hadn't found Kiba and Shino. She bit her lip and looked up to the boy for an answer, but he was gone.

"Great.. just lovely.." She sighed, falling to the ground with a 'thump'. It wasn't until she felt something wet against her arm that she realized Hitami had followed her when she was captured. "Hey girl, can you do me a favour?" She asked, scratching her behind the ears. She was really getting used to Hitami's company, it was comforting. Shinobu grinned when the small dog yipped in response.

"I want you to go find Hinata. Make sure she's ok, if she's still with Shikamaru's team, then go find Kiba and Shino. They'll either need you to lead them to Hinata or they'll give you different orders. Ok?" Shinobu asked, tilting her head ever so slightly to match her dogs before Hitami barked again, giving her a quick kiss before darting off.

"Good girl.." Shinobu whispered, quickly taking note of what supplies she had on her and where she was. She was probably about seven kilometres from the tower judging by the direction they had ran in.. but she couldn't be to sure.

"Alright.. if I was a blond, funny, caring, loyal, stupid, babbling, idiot.. where would I be?" Shinobu grinned slightly to herself before she could practically feel the warmth from the lightbulb that clicked on in her head. "I would be right beside my teammates.. possibly unconscious."

It took her a while but with a lot of looping around and re-tracing her steps and the steps of other ninja she managed to make her way to a small clearing. By the end of her search she was much more wary as she could tell someone was fighting near by.

"It looks like Sasuke and Naruto are just knocked out."

"Hey! Let's run away! They are in serious trouble!"

"Was that Shikamaru and Choji speaking.. is Hinata with them?" Shinobu spoke quietly to herself moving from tree to tree so she could get a better angle of what was going on.

"Didn't you guys used to be good friends? Well Sakura's in trouble.. are you sure?"

"What will I do?"

"What will you do, Ino? That Lee has also been beaten and Sakura is alone."

"Wait.. Sakura..? That means Sasuke and Naruto are there.. didn't Shikamaru say they were out cold? Who are they fighting anyway?" Shinobu leaned forward, catching a glimpse of Sakura who was staring down three ninja's who looked oddly familiar to her, they were from the sound weren't they?

"Hey! Ino? What do we do!" Shikamaru spoke a little louder this time, Ino appeared in a slight daze.

"I know! But what can we do? We can't just jump out!" Ino spoke back, it sounded like she was trying to growl.. she seemed frustrated, nervous, conflicted and afraid.

"Why can't you Ino?.. Then again.. why aren't I? Those are my brothers out there.." Shinobu spoke silently, catching sight of the two boys laying in the hallow of a nearby tree.

"Much more luster than me.. this.. pfft... trying to be a sexy ninja? If you have time to treat your hair, then train, you female swine!" Shinobu unconsciously twirly her own ponytail as she watched. She was two used to her shorter hair.. she was almost self conscious of going out there to protect them.. what if they thought she was weak? She clutched her head as the voices in her head bickered.

"Zaku! Kill that Sasuke guy in front of the boy chasers eyes! Let's teach this one a lesson!"

"Aaah, good idea!"

With those words Shinobu felt her legs move on their own accord, her genjutsu quickly envoloping her body, the weight of her ponytail on her back disappearing as she zig-zagged her way to the hallow of the tree. They would not touch her brother. One move towards the hallow of the tree and they'd be dead before they could even pull a kunai out.

"What are you doing Sakura... you're stronger than this.." Shinobu whispered, she wasn't going to come out yet.. she knew Sakura had her own self-confidence issues and something told her it would be best to give the girl a chance to defend her team before she made any bigger moves than that. "She cut off her hair?" Shinobu's eyes widened, the girl had guts.. maybe more than she did.. she didn't care about her appearance.. she was proving them wrong.

"KIN KILL HER!" one of the male sound ninja yelled. I guess Kin is the girl then.

"To go or not to go.. that's the question.." Shinobu watched with a small smirk as Sakura deceived them with the basic skills they had learned in the academy. She was better than she gave herself credit for. "If she goes after that boy.. I'll get the Kin girl, as strong as she is, she's at a major disadvantage.. and it looks like Ino isn't going to do anything yet."

"Hey Kin.." Shinobu spoke, trying to mimick the voice of her other teammate.

"Za- wait, wh-mmph!" Her voice was muffled from a piece of cloth ripped from Shinobu's shorts as she dragged the girl backwards towards the hallow of the tree. Sasuke was groaning and something about the purple-ish aura around him told Shinobu it wasn't just your average fever.

"You tell me right now what the hell is wrong with him or I'll kill you, deal? Don't even try to scream." Shinobu threatened, watching with a small smile as Shikamaru and his team appeared in front of Sakura, protecting her.

"I'm not telling you a thing you- wait.. are you Sasuke? No.. he's over there.. what the hell?"

"Here we'll trade, I'm feeling generous. You tell me what's going on with him, and I'll share my information for your master, because it would appear you're on some other orders besides the average 'become a chunin' if you know what I mean. Oh.. and I'll let you live."

"It's a curse mark.. from Orochimaru.. most people don't live through it. If he's alive by the end of the exam he'll be lucky.. I don't know why he got it.. all my orders are is to kill Sasuke."

"Good girl. My name is Shinobu, Sasuke's my brother. Tell Orochimaru to get a better informationalist, or he'll find himself dead sooner than planned." Shinobu growled, pushing her back towards the battle. She could let Ino-Shika-Cho team deal with her. She, instead, went back to Sasuke's side to see the large bruise on his neck.

"Dosu? What are you doing at a time like this?" Kin shouted, quickly distracted from her encounter by the odd movements her teammate was making.

"Good old ninpou shadow copy no jutsu. Got to love Nara's." Shinobu sighed, shaking her head. She needed to leave and find her own team but she couldn't bring herself to leave Naruto or Sasuke's side, she couldn't trust these people to protect them.

Shinobu crouched getting ready to leave before she noticed that the team was starting to fail, Ino had blood coming from her mouth, which for some reason made Shinobu want to protect the girl, and Shikamaru's jutsu was running out of time.

"Some minor sound nins bullying these.. second rate ninjas and declaring victory?"

"They keep coming out like cockroaches.."

"And they really do.. but seriously.. it's taking all of our leaf teams to beat one sound team? This is almost pathetic.." Shinobu growled.. maybe she could just escape with the two on her back.

"That knocked out freak right there is from our team" Tenten spoke, gesturing towards Lee who was laying on the ground.

"Someone just beat them already.. I don't want to go out myself.. there's too many people and unlike everyone here.. I don't have my team to back me up. Crap..Sasuke?" Shinobu's attention quickly changed to the kneeling boy beside her, she let her skin disolve into the tree using a genjutsu. As long as he was awake.. she had nothing to worry about.

"Sakura... Who did that to you?" Sasuke stood, it was then shinobu noticed the bruise had spread. It covered his entire face and the left side of his body. She could see a purple, dark chakra swirling around him. Was this what the curse mark had done to him?

"We did it!" The boy who had hit her grinned standing up, Shinobu felt her stomache drop. Something was off this aura, this attitude.. this wasn't Sasuke. It felt evil.. almost heartless and it was making her nauseous. She watched with eyes wide as he moved towards the boy, who was ignorant enough to talk down straight to his face. Sasuke looked ready to kill, and the boy wasn't helping.

"Hehe.. so you're proud of these two arms, hn?" Sasuke's grin sent shivers up her spine as he seized the boy by his wrists, stepping on his back and yanking his arms backwords. Any farther and he was sure to dislocate them. A sickening pop and an ear piercing scream told her what her eyes refused to see.. whatever had happened to him.. this wasn't Sasuke. This was almost.. a monster.. but it could change.. right?

"STOP!" A scream echoed through the trees, forcing her to look up, what had he done? It wasn't what he had done though.. it was what SHE had done. Sakura stood there, tears streaming down her face as her arms wrapped around Sasuke's rigid frame. His bruise retracted as his eyes widened, the contact did something.

"I need to leave..." Shinobu spoke quietly to herself, writing a quick message in the sand for Naruto before darting away.

* * *

><p><strong>Shikamaru POV<strong>

"What should we do? Should we kick him awake?"

"I have a stick.. we're good." Choji grinned slightly, bopping Naruto over the head with it.

"EVERYONE HIDE! NO! GET DOWN, NOW! Where did that guy go?" Naruto shouted immediately searching for Orochimaru as everyone watched with confused and bemused eyes.

"You sure are one of a kind." Shikamaru sighed.

"I- huh.. what's this.." Naruto looked down to where he had just been laying, Shikamaru watched over his shoulder.

_'You can do it Naru nii-chan. Don't give up. 3'_

"Who is that from...?" Shikamaru groaned.. another troublesome thing about the blond he would probably never understand.

"SAKURA-CHAN! What did you do to your hair?

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I swear these are getting longer than the chapters themselves XD Not that that's a bad thing. I actually have a question for the common reviewers (who get to read these every single time I update). After the story is finished (it's split in two incase I haven't mentioned it before. Just like canon naruto with shippuuden) would it bother you if I remove all the review responses? (Or possibly sooner. Like every ten chapters i'll delete the last ten. So when I reach chapter 20 i delete 1-10.) If even one of you doesn't want me to i'll leave them up I just figure that after the story is finished no one will really re-read them.**

**OrionRedde: **I'm glad you like it! I'm trying my best to update, sorry for all the waiting ^^;

**Remy987: **I'm really glad you like it! And it's a secret but I'm glad you asked because most people have been overlooking it. She is an Uchiha but people unlock that gift at different times, hers just happens to have special circumstances. Also, not all Uchiha's recieve sharingan. They are definitely a cute couple :P COOKIE O.o merci *gives chu piece of cake* Haha, it doesn't sound toooo crazy, but he'll realize.. eventually XD haha. Thanks so much, I'll try to update quicker.

**EclipseStripe: **Lmfao, lovely way to die XD I'll assure you that I can't make this story work without a main character. Well.. actually.. I could.. but .. darn it now i have ideas XD

**Neko Morie: **Aww, do you have conventions there though? Ooh, I get heard of habbo but it sounds like fun XD Crossplaying in role play of in actually cosplay is fun XD haha. strawberry cake it is XD

**DutchyPuppy: **So does Naruto though :P But you have several points XD Glad you liked it. HAha, thank you, they're definitely an.. odd.. couple xD thanks ! I'll try.. or i guess tried since this is on the update XDthanks for the review.

**xburner21: **A new reviewer! Thank you so much for your feedback. I'm glad you like it. I like your points towards Shikamaru a lot O.o most people only comment on their relationships, you're one of the few to comment on their reactions to the gender switch. I imagine him like that too. He's a jealous person, I think he could easily protect and put effort forth for something he cares enough about. Like Shogi, all the thought effort put into that? Haha, thank you for the review! :D

**XxInuzukaxX: **That's alright, thanks for reading and reviewing XD Gaara and Neji. hmm. Ya, it was short, sorry about that XD I'm not an incest person either but thank you XD That will be a fun chapter to write O.o Byee, thanks XD and it's alright lol.

A yaoi rant review response: Since I'm not writing another chappy and your a normal review i'm responding here, lol. Aaah you're not a stalker XD I get the feeling though. haha. P.s Yay for third person. I absolutely hate that, I mean, it's just so hypocritical.. and everything.. it bugs me. Stupid ignorant close minded judgemental.. *growls* anyway getting off topic XD But it's equally stupid to assume someone is gay because they support gay rights.. does that mean every guy who supports women's rights is a girl? Or is every person who supports cancer a cancer survivor? No. It's bleeeeh. Definitely easier to read/ write then watch, but It's not exactly worth it to watch a couple progress in their sex life if you can't see how they met, or how they act around each other on a date or in friendship and things like that. It's just, you get a better idea of the real relationship of two people in someone that isn't based on sex. Haha, ya, one of my close friends is actually bi and you wouldn't be able to tell unless he told you, that's why it bugs me when people are "don't take two obviously straight characters and make them gay for your own sick fantasies." Say what? I'm not focused on gender here buddy, I'm focused on the fact they have a close relationship, it's the whole reason the pairing exists unless it's a crack pairing. lol. And there is no OBVIOUSLY straight. ugh. Haha, I know that two, if it's a crack fic I get it but warn us first. For compatibility based on location I like it when people find ways to make things work, like I've seen a Gaara/Hinata fic where Hinata had originally moved to Suna to help teach medical jutsu. They made it work in a realistic way, or people write AU fics. I just hope I don't get a warning or ban from it. I figure if someone complains I'm going to re-write it as if Shinobu was the one ranting. Haha. Or maybe Sasuke *evil ideas* XD thanks for both reviews.

**ThePhoenixOfTears: **Oooh, never heard of him XD Wow O.o that would be amazing, i'll understand if you can't do it though, i'm having issues thinking of songs, speaking of which I love the one at the end of this review XDHitami is disappeared XD well the answer is in the chapter above. It does look funny XD That would make him grow up.. but I don't think I want him to grow up in canon.. i like him now XD Oooh XD sorry, I loved that song and i remember sharing it with my sister. I forget about songs here and there XD sorrry!

I agree, Hinata and Naruto (other than my yaoi fan side) has always been my favourite couple. They would make a good couple, for ino anyway in that sense but I can't imagine choji being very happy. Where as shika and ino have this little mini fight thing going on.. it just.. it's almost like Shika's mom and dad XD seems so perfect XD Though I could see Temari and Shika too. Holy heck theres more O.o I agree though, Shinobu definitely needs someone with unless Gaara changes a bit.. well it would have to be Lee, Choji, Kiba, Juugo or Naruto. :P Or possibly suigetsu? But the others are warmer. Juugo, choji and Lee are the most nurturing.

Haha, I know it's really annoying XD but it's how my brain works too. So i can understand this personality trait in someone. It seems like something Shinobu would do especially because of her father. Ino does like to be better than sakura but she doesn't want to be better than shinobu, inner battle much? :P Haha pretty much XD they get 4 days of "oh crap is the red-head gonna kill us?" hahaha. XD.

ShinobuXLee: I love all of your points for Lee. He's definitely making the list now XD

Shinou X Kiba: Finally someone who isn't up for kiba. I'm honestly seeing the brother trait in both kiba and naruto to a point where I don't want to make them a couple. It just goes against my brain.

Shinobu X Shino: Limited freedom, plus I don't want to change Shino all too much because his personality helps support Hinata a lot. (not in a pairing sense) I like your points for this one, or rather, against it XD

Shinobu X ...Suigetsu: Wow.. just wow.. your points for this were just wow XD best description :P Thanks, this one was helpful. I agree with everything you wrote.

Shinobu X ...Akatsuki: Deidara or Sasori seem to work in my mind with the exception that she wouldn't get the chance to meet or know sasori too much i don't think. Deidara..hmm.. and I've read the manga. Tobi is madara i think o.o

Shinobu X Neji: I would really enjoy this pairing, especially if we get Neji attempting to crack a joke. The joke itself wouldn't have to be funny but him trying would get her to smile. This is a big possibility.

Haha thanks so much, for the details you have won :D MWAHAHAHAHA. If you have more keep 'em coming because they are really helpful xD As for the prize, if you could send in an anonymous review with your username saying "name, age, gender, personality traits, appearance and odd facts" in the review You will appear in the fic, no clue when but you will xD Thanks sooo much for the review XDD Really appreciated.

**Alpenwolf: (all chapter reviews) **Youtube can block songs in different countries? That's awful O.o I didn't know about that. You can listen to songs on places like grooveshark and jango though. Maybe you could try them? You can listen to almost any music there, not sure if it would be blocked. Thank you. They are very similar in a lot of ways. Shinobu means endurance. :P

I did believe the Uchiha's only have pure blood marriages but Fugaku in this case is showing that he only wants his sons to marry because most female ninjas become housewives after marriage and he wants strength and power. He is kind of dumb, the reason she didn't disappear is because she, while loving Shinobu, also had to worry about Itachi and Sasuke. It wouldn't be fair for her to abandon them as well. So she tried to balance both. It's not normal behavior, he told everyone that Shinobu died during birth and Sasuke survived.

Haha ya, I tried to make her day to day life struggles realistic. I figured she wouldn't trust a stranger so easily after growing up the way she did. I grinned writing that part, I couldn't imagine Shinobu being all fangirl-ish. I love the song mad world, it's very touching.

She is referring to Teuchi, the ramen stall owner. Renting or buying, because Hiruzen technically has ownership of vacant lots he'd just have to arrange for her to life in one of them. He wouldn't have to exactly buy it. To Shinobu, gender means nothing. She grew up only knowing that she was human along with everyone else in a way, just treated differently for a reason she couldn't understand, so gender means nothing to her. Shinobu is actually a neutral name, like Taylor in english, it can be used for both boys and girls without question.

Haha ya, but while Shinobu is technically older she is kind of like a little sister in the fact that she acts younger yet mature all at the same time, she wants Naruto to be a like an older brother because she wants that comfort and protection. Ages don't really mean much to her.

I think there's a lot of times in canon wear we really hate the people of Konoha, they just seem so cruel. Ya, for Shinobu the idea of living with someone else under a real roof is so missed that it doesn't really take consideration. Wow O.o you actually noticed one of my little hidden ideas. It was in one of her dreams it's kind of referencing how Naruto has really become a brother figure to Shinobu. Thanks, I remember the same expression, and I believe Kimmimaru's fighting style is also called a "dance".

I think the same, though sometimes they really look identical. Even as a girl they look very similar, Shinobu is a bit more feminine of course. Girls are nutters and she DOES have twisted logic XD Shinobu is a bit of a nutter if you think about it XD I really like that point.

It's hard for them to see through an excellent genjutsu because it's like the shadow clone, it creatives a real form that has real chakra running through it. That and Shinobu has been using it every day for years so she's very good at it. YAY FOR PJ'S! XD

Oh, haha. My mom is protective, because I used to explain all my stories when questions got asked and held conversations and that my mom made me disable it because she didn't want me talking to strangers. Now I just explain everything at the end of the chapter. I think Asuma and Kurenai are tied for sanity but her using anko's course is definitely questionable XD Hahaha! That little voice quote you did totally just made my day xD thanks.

Yup, but your write on that, I loved this arc too much to just drop it all together. Really? You haven't seen any other gay portrayals in fan fictions? Hmm, I think it would be something fun to add in. Nice to know you're open minded XD lmfao XD Chuck and Larry XD

I figured it was a necessity as you can't really have a hyuuga related thing without showing some of the hyuuga's true colours. It's sad in it's own way, maybe they'll change over time, who knows XD I tried my best with Mika, trying to show her emotions and how she would really react in that situation. Thanks :D

They do feel right in a way but in a way it feels like they're too much like best friends or siblings. Hmm, not sure. Luckily i have a while to think about it. I'm glad you liked it enough to read through all of that. I really appreciate all the reviews. Thank you so much! The rain ninja's always did strike me as odd, they seemed.. i dunno.. just weird. Well the tower itself has a lobby type area shown in canon, they haven't entered a sealed room yet. Shinobu and Hinata are ok for now XD Thank you again soo much for the reviewss :D


	29. Chipmunks Roasting on an Open Fire

**A/N: I promised some of my readers that I'd get at least two updates today so here is number two. Merry Christmas everyone, I hope you've had a wonderful holidays so far :D As for the song, I was trying to be christmas-y :D**

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

"Thank god you guys are already at the tower.. are you all ok?" Shinobu panted slightly, happy to finally be back with her entire team. She couldn't help but giggle as Akamaru and Hitami teamed up, kissing her cheeks.

"Haha, ya, we ended up getting a scroll in the beginning." Kiba grinned, scratching the back of his head.

"Great, we have our set too." Shinobu grinned, pulling out the scrolls and handing them to Shino who was holding the scroll they had gotten from the leeches. Part of Shinobu wanted to wait to make sure all of the leaf genin had their scrolls before they advanced, but they didn't have time for that. They didn't want to miss the deadline. It had taken her a lot longer than she had expected to get to the tower after running into a nasty genjutsu which caused her to run in circles for what could have been a day for all she knew.

"Alright! Let's go!" Kiba grinned, punching the air as he guided Shinobu and Hinata back to the room he and Shino had been sleeping in. While they had been there they had lots of time to look at this one poster on the wall. It had some words missing but it seemed to be a set of instructions.

"Without heaven... so we're supposed to open the scrolls here aren't we?" Shinobu clarified, taking one back from Shino so they could be opened at the same time.

"That's what we figured." Shino responded, putting his own thumb under the crevice of the paper getting ready to open it.

"Three.. Two.. One" Shinobu counted down before they were opened.

"That's a... Shino-kun! Shinobu-chan! That's a summon! Drop the scrolls!" Hinata shouted, or rather, talked in a louder than normal fashion for her. Within a couple of seconds the room was filled with smoke causing the team to cough and rub their eyes, it stung and caused them to tear up.

"What the hell! Couldn't they create something less acid like?" Kiba shouted as Akamaru whimpered.

"You know.. if Kurenai was here she would hit you for that." A voice chuckled.

"Anko-sensei?"

"You got that right, kiddo. I knew you maggots would pass." Anko grinned as the smoke cleared.

"So that's what this was for.. if we opened the scroll early you would have been summoned and we would have failed.. but now you're here to ensure that we passed and have both scrolls."

"Yup, I'd congratulate you with some awesome training but you maggots have somewhere else you need to be for this exam." Anko grinned as looks of confused passed over the faces of team eight.

"Wait.. what?" Kiba tilted his head.

"All of the genins are meeting up in the arena now that this portion of the exam is over. As you passed, you're expected to be there. As in now." Anko looked like she was getting ready to shout at them to move and get their butts into gear but Shinobu interupted her.

"What exactly are the instructions on the poster.. Anko-sensei?"

"Oh those? It's a chunin's motto. The heaven represents mind while the earth represents body. It's the whole idea behind this part of the exam, you can't pass your mission if you don't have both. You need both wisdom and strategy as well as stamina and strength. Keep it in mind.. and MOVE IT!" Anko grinned, her voice booming from the walls as the genin scrambled through the door.

* * *

><p>"Kabuto.. do you have my information card for me?" A man with a rather creepy complection asked, dark purple make up lining his eyes while his tongue made him appear snake like as he talked.<p>

"Yes.. Here." Kabuto smirked, handing over the card.

"Good.. I have one more thing, a change of plans, for you to do for me."

"Sure."

* * *

><p>"First off, for the second test! Congratulations on passing!" The hokage smiled as his voice echoed around a large stadium like room. There were two sets of balconies on either side of it with strairs leading up. On the opposite end of the room from the doors there was a small platform and a statue of someone holding a jutsu hand sign. The sign for tiger or fire. Up on the stand in a line were the jounin teachers of all of the teams including Kakashi, Gai, Kurenai, Iruka, Asuma, Baki, Anko and the Hokage.<p>

In the middle of the room in six lines of three and one line of four stood the remaining genin teams who passed the forest of death. There was the konoha rookie ten, team gai, the team from the hidden sand, the sound team and Kabuto's team. Some standing more confidently while others showing the obvious wear from the last task.

"You're team isn't too bad, maybe they were lucky." Gai spoke from the platform, looking over the remaining genin. "But as long as my team is aroung, getting any farther is impossible. Since from now on, it's about real ability. Well, with youth there are some sweet times and there are some sour times, eh Kakashi?"

"Huh? You say something?" Kakashi replied, his face displaying confusion as he looked over at his 'rival' for a mere moment before looking back towards his team. Gai secretely infuriated said nothing more.

'Aah.. so that's Gai sensei's eternal rival. Gai sensei totally loses in terms of looks though' Tenten thought to herself with a small smile.

'I knew it! Among all of the other teachers Gai sensei is the coolest!' Lee held his fists in front of him, thinking with his 'youth' displayed in his expression. 'He's sparkling alright! Watch me Gai sensei! I'll sparkle too!'

'So all of the main guys survived.. Uchiha Sasuke...' Neji thought, looking at him. He wasn't the only one glaring towards the young Uchiha.

'I'll get you back for my arms Uchiha Sasuke...' Zaku thought.

'So only seven out of the twenty seven teams passed... hm..' Temari sighed.

'Akamaru is acting strange...' Kurenai winced, Anko had said that they had made it through fine!

'Gaara is unscathed.. of course..' Baki noted.

'That sand guy..' Kiba frowned as Akamaru whimpered.

'Oh good, Naruto-kun passes too.' Hinata thought, smiling to herself.

'Good.. Naruto and Sasuke made it through ok.. I bet Hinata's thinking the same thing.' Shinobu grinned slightly but the effort of the last task had exhausted her.

'What's this? All the leaf rookies are here..' Sakura noted, looking around.

'Old man hokage, Iruka sensei, Kakashi sensei and even super brows is here. Wow! Wow! It's like everyone is getting assembled.' Naruto thought, getting all hyped up.

"Heh.. I can't say that I'm getting a good feeling." Sasuke spoke outloud, clutching his neck.

'For this many to make it, and most of them are rookies. No wonder they all nominated them.' The Hokage smiled slightly, looking back at the jounin.

"Hokage-sama will now explain the third test! Listen carefully!" Anko shouted. "Now Hokage-sama.. please."

"Yes. For the third coming test.. but before I explain that.. There is something I'd like you to know." The Hokage paused, allowing everyone to collect their thoughts. "It concerns the true reason for this exam. Why do we have all the allianced countries take the exam together? 'To promote friendship among the countries.', 'To raise the level of shinobi'. I don't want you to all be confused about the true meaning. The exam is.. a replacement for war, among the allied countries." The Hokage paused again, letting the information sink in.

"What does that mean?" Tenten asked, confusion lining her features.

"If you go back in time, the current allies were enemies who fought each other over who would rule. In order to prevent the wasteful fighting, the stage that these countries chose for battle.. that is the origins of the chunin exam."

"Why the hell do we have to do this crap? Isn't this thing for deciding who is chunin?" Naruto burst out. Shinobu sighed shaking her head, sometimes he could be so wise.. and other times she just had to wonder.

"It is a fact that this exam decides which shinobis have what it takes to become chunin. But on the other hand, this exam has another side.. Where each country's shinobis risk their life to protect their land's prestige.

"Prestige?" Ino asked, tilting her head.

"Watching this third exam will be leaders and influencial individuals from many countries who make up the clients of the shinobi. And the leaders of the countries will also be there to watch each of your battles. If the strength of a country is clear, that country will receive more clients and conversly, if seen weak, they will lose clients. And this will signal to potental enemy countries that 'our village has this much power' so it will send a political message to the outsiders." The Hokage explained.

"Yeah, but why? Why do we have to risk our lives in battle?" Kiba shouted, not quite understanding.

"The strength of the country.. is the strength of the village.. the strength of the village.. is the strength of the shinobi.. and a shinobi's true strength.. is born only through life-risking battle. This exam is a place to see each country's strength and to show off your own strength. It only has meaning because lives are at risk and that's why those who have come before you have fought in the chunin exam for that this dream that is something meaningful."

"But then why? Do you say things about this being for "friendship"." Tenten asked.

"You said in the beginning that you didn't want us to confuse the purpose of this.. so what you're saying is, that this is the shape of friendship.. in the world of shinobi. Right?" Shinobu called out, answering Tenten's question while asking her own.

"Yes." The Hokage paused and silence took over before he began the explanation of the third and final task. "Before we begin the third test, I will tell you one more thing. This is not just a test. This is a life-risking battle with your dreams and your country's prestige on the line."

"I get it." Naruto grinned.

"I don't care what it is.. just hurry up and tell us what this "life-risking battle" entails." Gaara growled.

"Yes, I'd like to explain the third test now but-"

"Actually.." A man started but cut himself off in a cough. "I apologize Hokage-sama. From here on, as the referee, will you please allow me, Gekkou Hayate.."

"By all means." The Hokage replied.

"Hello everyone, I'm Hayate." A man with dark circles under his eyes began, he looked rather ill. "Umm.. before the third test.. there's something I would like you to do. Umm.. it's a preliminary for the third test, to decide who gets to participate in the main event."

"Preliminary?" Sakura said outloud, obviously shocked.

"Preliminary? What do you mean by that?" Shikamaru shouted, another troublesome thing he wished he didn't have to do.

"Sensei, I don't understand this preliminary but.. why aren't all the people here allowed to participate in the main event?" Sakura asked.

"Umm.. because the first and second test may have been too easy this year.. we have a few too many people. According to the chunin exam rules, we must have a preliminary and reduce the number of participants for the third test." Hayate explained.

"No way..."

"As Hokage-sama indicated earlier, there will be many guests at the third test. So the fights could take too long, we are limited in time."

"So umm.. anyone who isn't feeling well, those who are quitting after these explanations, please come forward now, since we will be starting the preliminary immediately."

"What? Right Now?" Kiba shouted.

"Kiba.. everytime you do that.. you kill my ears.." Shino sighed.

"Sorry.. but.. seriously?" Kiba asked?

"Yes, this will be your last chance to quit, is there anyone?"

"Guys.. if you feel we can't we can all come back next exam.. but I'm staying.. I know I can do this." Shinobu spoke to her team. "I will not back down, to get here means we are strong enough.. we have the strength and mind.. heaven and earth. I will not lose."

"I-i'm staying also.. I can do this.." Hinata smiled at her team and they nodded in agreeance.

"Anybody? Oh and I forgot to tell you, from now on it will be individual fighting, so you will not effect your team by pulling out." Hayate coughed. "You may raise your hand based on your own judgement"

"Still staying." Shinobu grinned slightly.

"Umm now.. there are no retiring then? Umm.. Now.. Let's begin the preliminary. This preliminary will consist of one on one fighting. You will basically fight as if in real life confrontation. Since we have exactly twenty-two participants we will conduct eleven matches and umm.. the winners will advance to the third test." Hayate explained.

"There are basically no rules. The fight continues until one of you dies, is knocked out or admits defeat. Umm.. if you don't want to die.. then quickly acknowledge your defeat. But when I decide that a winner has clearly been established, we don't want to pointlessly increase the amount of corpses, I'll jump in and stop things."

"And the object that controls your destiny is.. open it." Anko grinned.

"Is this, this electric score board will show the match ups for each battle. Now, this is sudden but lets announce the names of the two in the first fight." Hayate finished. "Round one, Nara Shikamaru versus Tenten! Now these two entrants come to the front, can everyone else move to the balconies."

"Good luck Shika." Shinobu grinned as she passed by.

"Troublesome." He grumbled, but smirked back none the less.

"The two participants in the first fight are Nara Shikamaru and Tenten. Are you ready?" Hayate asked, looking between the two.

"Whatever.. sure."

"Yes!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And so the Preliminaries have began.. begon..begun.. wtf it all looks wrong XD MWAHAHAHA. BTW.. since I'm updating so quickly with my stories some of the review responses will be doubled. For example if someone responds to my last chapter after this one is out I will respond to that review and their review on this chapter (if there is one) next chapter. :D HAPPY HOLIDAYS :D**


	30. Where are You Christmas

**A/N: The song again is to keep the christmas music on.. I seriously am running out of songs.. holidays make great excuses XD This one is by cindy lou who from "The grinch who stole christmas" .. or something like that. Great song though. Warning you all now.. I plan on writing ALL of these fights out.. because they're not the original fight I don't want to just leave it for the imagination.. writing fights isn't my strong point but I'm trying. This also means that the next five chapters are going to be fighting.. lots of it. Sorry for those of you who dislike fights. My next non-fight chapter should be up by Jan 15. I hope. If not sooner.**

* * *

><p><em>"Is this, this electric score board will show the match ups for each battle. Now, this is sudden but lets announce the names of the two in the first fight." Hayate finished. "Round one, Nara Shikamaru verses Tenten! Now these two entrants come to the front, can everyone else move to the balconies."<em>

_"Good luck Shika." Shinobu grinned as she passed by._

_"Troublesome." He grumbled, but smirked back none the less._

_"The two participants in the first fight are Nara Shikamaru and Tenten. Are you ready?" Hayate asked, looking between the two._

_"Whatever.. sure."_

_"Yes!"_

* * *

><p><strong>Shikamaru POV<strong>

"Begin!"

"Just a leaf rookie... this should be a piece of cake for her." Neji stated.

"GOOD LUCK TENTEN!" Lee screamed from the balcony.

"Does he ever shut up..? Troublesome.." Shikamaru mumbled. _Oh man, what a drag. I mean give me a break. I've got to fight a girl?_

"Hey.. he may be annoying but don't insult my teammates.

"TENTEN! YOUTH! POWER!" Lee shouted in support.

"CHEER LOUDER!" Gai joined in.

"C'mon Tenten! Send him back on a stretcher!"

"Show the power of youth!"

"This is troublesome enough nevermind their annoying cheering."

"Don't lose, Shikamaru!"

"You're one to talk." Tenten laughed, looking up Shikamaru's teammates, cheering from the balcony.

"They're troublesome too.." Shikamaru sighed.

"Sure sure, let's just start so I can beat you and relax before my teammates have to fight." Tenten laughed. "Oh, and good luck, you'll need it."

"Hn, we'll see." Shikamaru smirked.

"But all I need to do is watch your shadow right? It's your only trick.. I saw you with your team." Tenten grinned before pulling out a handful of weapons.

"Weapons mistress, eh? Troublesome." Shikamaru smirked slightly before beginning his own odd dance consisting of him flipping and hopping around trying to avoid all of the different weapons. If this was how the entire fight was going to be he wasn't going to last long. It would exhaust him too quickly and he'd be forced to forfeit.

"So.. what happened to that cocky attitude. You look like a mexican jumping bean." Tenten laughed as Shikamaru was forced into a mid-air split to avoid getting his.. important body parts.. turned into a weapon shishkabob.

"Yes, and I'm avoiding most damage as well." Shikamaru panted while leaning on his knees, thankful for the temporary cease fire. He had managed to avoid all but two shuriken which sliced a good chunk of his sleeve off and taking some skin with them.

"For now." Tenten grinned, pulling out a scroll.

"Hmm... a summoning scroll? What type of weapon do you use.. or is it an animal.." Shikamaru wondered outloud.

"Just watch and see Mr. Lazy." Tenten grinned.

"Ya ya, Mrs. Sarcastic." He sighed earning a laugh from Tenten as she jumped into the air, the scroll and smoke whipping around her in a dance of weapons.

"Shit... A tornado of shuriken and kunai? Kagemane no Jutsu!" Shikamaru groaned to himself before trying his best to attach shadows to all of the different weapons, causing them to fall straight down instead of at an angle towards him. By the time Tenten came back to the ground Shikamaru almost completely out of breath while the weapons lay on the ground, not a drop of blood on any of them.

"W-what? How?"

"You underestimated me. Just because I won't hit a girl doesn't mean I'm going to roll over and die for you either." Shikamaru smirked. _But at this rate I won't have much time.. it's only been three minutes and I'm running out of chakra too quickly, I can't use my jutsu on all of those weapons at once. Maybe if I use the shadows of the weapons I can get her while she's attacking.. I would get hit that way, but it's probably the quickest way to end the fight as well._

"You're underestimating me too, you don't have time to formulate a plan Nara." Tenten shouted, throwing several kunais towards him.

"We've already been throu- CRAP!" Shikamaru's eyes widened as he dodged the first one and it proceeded to explode behind him. _She tagged them. Damn it. _He winced as the different kunais wizzed past him blowing up at different times. He managed to get through with slightly burns until the last one knicked his pants, hooking onto them. Before he could unhook it, it exploded sending him flying into a nearby wall.

"You ok?" Tenten asked, showing some honest concern when he didn't get up quite away.

"Lovely.." He looked up and grinned before pointing to the kunai laying in the middle of the room then gesturing to his unharmed leg.

"Ugh.. I planned on saving this for the main event.. but I guess it's now or never.. Rising Twin Dragons!" Tenten shouted, opening two scrolls simultaneously and throwing them into a spiral in the air before pushing off from the ground to meet them.

"More weapons? This is going to hurt..." Shikamaru sighed, splitting his shadow off again as the weapons started raining down. If he could get the majority of them away from himself he'd still be able to catch her just before she stopped the jutsu.

"I'm not done yet!" Tenten shouted with a grin when the weapons lay on the ground. Flipping back into the air she flicked her wrists, invisible strings catching in the light. _She's attached rope to all of them.. that's perfect._ Just as the weapons made there way towards Shikamaru he grinned.

"W-whaaat?" Tenten's eyes widened in shock as she felt her limbs lock up, preventing her from controlling the waepons as she fell to the ground. "H-how?"

"You need to be more careful.. you're too busy watching your own shadow and mine. The shadow of your own weapon escaped your mind." Shikamaru grinned pushing off into air and using his shadow to controll the weapons, moving his arms so her arms would drag the weapons back towards her.

"Darn it.." Tenten winced as some of the weapons hit her. "But, I get hit it'll hurt you too!"

"If you're a shinobi then fight with the knowledge of your surroundings. Even if we move the same.." Shikamaru started, pulling out of his bridge. "The distance between us and your falling weapons are different. If I dodge this one here," He paused to dart to the left. "you run into that one." he said as she let out a cry, a kunai embedding itself into her forearm."

With one last arm movement he took the blunt objects so they all hit her at once, not having the heart to watch her get stabbed by the sharper ones. With in a moment she was knocked out and tangled in her own weapons.

"YEA SHIKAMARU!"

"YOU RULE!"

"Hn.. troublesome." Shikamaru smirked slightly after he saw the medical team was coming to make sure she was ok.

"Winner! Nara Shikamaru! Now the next match.. Aburame Shino verses Yamanaka Ino!"

"Shino..? Which one is he again? I don't remember seeing him in the academy.. Maybe he's from another village." Ino muttered to herself as she made her way down to the ground level.

"Shino.. Yamanaka mind body swap.. I'll bet you anything she tries to use it to get you to forfeit. Be careful." Shinobu whispered.

"I will b,e thanks." Shino smiled.

"Good luck Shino-kun!"

"Ya! Go kick some ass!"

"Kiba!"

"Sorry Kurenai-sensei..."

* * *

><p><strong>Shino POV<strong>

Shino sighed as he made his way down to the main floor. His best bet was to distract the girl with basic academy moves while he got his bugs to sneak up on her. It would be even easier if she was afraid of bugs like most of the girls from the academy were.

"Aburame Shino.. Yamanaka Ino? Are you ready?" Hayate asked, now that Tenten was gone on the stretcher.

"Yes."

"Yeah."

"Please begin."

"Forfeit.. if you fight here you will be finished." Shino stated simply.

"N-no!" Ino said, looking slightly taken aback. "I'm not losing to Sakura.. and I'm not losing to you.. I am strong.. I'm not forfeiting!"

"Beating me or forfeiting to me has no relation to you losing to Sakura. Forfeit. You can't beat me with simple mind techniques." Shino repeated.

"Y-you know my technique?" Ino stuttered.

"Yes.." Shino sighed, watching his bugs move from the corner of his eye.

"I'm not going to give up!" Ino growled running forward to attack Shino, darting to the right she moved to punch his head.

"It won't work." Shino stated, quickly blocking it. "You cannot beat Sakura and you cannot beat me. Someone who focuses more on their hair than their skills should not be a ninja." Shino explained without hesitation, while a girl's self-confidence means a lot at this age, it's also easy to take advantage of that kind of mental state. If he was lucky he could cause her to lose her focus with a few simple words. Sakura seemed to be an especially large weakspot.

"You better stop under-estimating and dis-respecting me!" Ino shouted, pulling out a kunai.

"You're mad and irrational, you're a simple civilian teenage girl and you don't deserve to be here. Please forfeit and I won't have to hurt you." Shino replied, matter-of-factly, watching her raise the kunai.

"ORAAAAAAA! I don't need this!" Ino screeched, cutting her ponytail off.

"Yikes.. she's snapped!" Shikamaru grimaced from the stands as she threw her hair onto the ground.

"Scary." Naruto mumbled...

"I'm going to end this right now! I'm going to make "I give up" come out of your mouth!"

"I can understand your desperation.. but that's useless." Shino stated. "Your jutsu, it allows you to project your own spiritual energy at your opponent. You can take control of their body for a few minutes. But it has a weakness.. your spirit would fly at a slow speed, miss your target.. and it takes you a few minutes to get back to your body leaving you vulnerable for attack."

"So what? We won't know until I try!" Ino shouted.

"If you miss this will be over.. you do know that. Right?"

"Idiot! Don't!" Shikamaru shouted.

"SHINPOU! SHINTENSHIN NO JUTSU!" Ino cried, her hands locked onto Shino has he darted from where he was standing. For a moment they both froze looking downwards.

"Which one..?" Shikamaru questioned.

"Too bad... Ino" Shino spoke. "It's over now." His eyes widened as he went to walk forward.

"I told you not to underestimate me Shino. You fell for it, my trap!" Ino grinned. "I've created a special chakra rope using my hair, this was all an act. Now I just have to enter your body and make you give up. I have a 100% chance of succeeding this time."

"I can't move.." Shino winced slightly.

"Shinpou.. shintenshin no jutsu."

"Did it work?" Shikamaru asked.

"Shino...crap.." Shinobu sighed.

"Too bad.. Shino.." Shino/Ino spoke with a maniacal grin that didn't really suit hiim. "I, Aburame Shino f-AAAAAAGH! W-w-what is that?"

"What? What's happening?" Choji asked, tilting his head.

"BWahahaha! That's hilarious!" Kiba snorted, watching Shino as tears started streaming down his face.

"G-get it off I CAN FEEL THEM CRAWLING GET THEM OFF!" Shino/Ino cried out.

"The bugs inside of his skin are something he is used to, the feeling doesn't register to him. But for a new comer, it would be like having hundreds of bugs crawling beneath your skin and on you. It's not a feeling most people would be able to ignore." Shinobu grinned and Shikamaru grimaced.

"Release!"

"I told you. It would not work. Mind games don't work with me." Shino smiled. "Now you can forfeit.. or take note of the bugs behind you. They're called destruction bugs. They attack their prey in numbers and eat their chakra. If this many attack you, as I said before, you will be finished.

"I f-forfeit! Just please d-don't let them near me!" Ino whimpered, she was visibly shaking.

"You forfeit?" Hayate asked.

"Y-yes just get th-them away!" Ino begged, crying. Within moments the bugs behind her fluttered away, retreating back into Shino's skin.

"Sorry.. " Shino murmered before going back up to meet his team.

"That was kind of brutal dude.." Kiba grinned.

"It was that or lose." Shino said simply.

"Good job Shino!" Shinobu congratulated him.

"Yes, good job." Hinata repeated, but Shino was distracted watching Ino retreat to her team, apologizing in choked sobs. Shikamaru simply held her as she trembled. Another win for fear of bugs.

"Alright, next round is Temari verses Kin Tsuchi."

* * *

><p><strong>Temari POV<strong>

"Ugh.. I have to fight one of the people from the stupid unheard of sound village?" Temari sighed to herself walking down to the ground level.

"Then it'll end quickly." Kin replied with a straight face, overhearing her. _That girl has some nerve challenging me._

"For the third match.. Temari.. Kin.. get ready." Hayate spoke. "Begin."

"They're both just standing there.. but I can't tell if their analyzing each other or not.. it looks more like they're waiting for the other to move." Shinobu noted, watching with a slightly confused expression. She wasn't quite sure who she wanted to win, from hearing about the forest from her teammates she wasn't particularily fond of the idea of fighting any of the sand ninja.. but she didn't want another run in with the sound either.

"What are you waiting for? I did say for you to begin."

"I guess she's waiting for me to make a move. Big mistake, because the first move I make will be the last move you see." Temari smirked.

"Another one trick pony, hm? I wouldn't be so sure about that if I were you." Kin laughed.

"Oh come on, I don't want this match to be over too quickly. So why don't you go first?" Temari replied. _That girl is going to get what's going to her for that one. _"Come on, _girl._Show me what you got."

"Ya you just thinking that way little girl.." Kin smirked, throwing two senbon with bells attached towards Temari. They missed and lodged into the wall behind her.

"What was that? A warm up excersize.. Or maybe you're a little nervous and it's effected your aim. Is that it? Perhaps, I was hoping I could at least work up a sweat. But forget that idea if this is the best you've got." Temari taunted, grabbing and opening her fan. "Take a look, this is the first moon." Temari laughed. "There are two more. When you see all three moons you'll know, you've lost the match." With a quick swish a blast of wind send Kin stumbling into the wall behind her, the bells behind Temari ringing from the action.

"Hn.. so you attached strings to the bells to distract me right?" Temari smirked, using her fan to snap them, causing the bells to ring.

"Don't act so smart.." Kin laughed as Temari's eyes widened.

"What.. what the?"

"Too late. You see, you don't ever ask for whom the bell tolls because it tolls for thee. This bell sends off a peculiar sound vibration that travels through the outer and inner ear then directly to the ear. First comes paralysis, then you'll start hallucinating." Kin grinned, watching as Temari moved to cover her ears.

"It won't work. You can't block the sound out once it's inside your head.. it's useless."

"Ugh.. I can't tell which one is the real one.." Temari growled.

"You can't move your arms or legs and even if you could you wouldn't know which one of us to attack. Face it, you're cooked little girl." Kin smirked.

"You think it's that easy, huh?" Temari grinned. "Aagh!"

"It's over... the sound girl is going to lose." Shikamaru sighed.

"W-what? How can you tell that?" Naruto asked, his eyes not leaving the match.

"If you can't see it I'm not going to waste my time explaining." He sighed again, leaning on his hand.

"That was three.. next time I'll throw five.. each time a couple more till you end up looking like a hedgehog." Kin laughed.

"There's one flaw in your little plan.." Temari winced slightly standing.

"W-what..!" Kin took a step back, looking shocked.

"I don't need to know which one of you to attack.. when I can attack you all at the same time. Moon number three." Temari smirked before her fan swirled disappearing with her in it.

"Huh.. where did she go? She's gone!" Kin growled, looking around. "How did she even stand?"

"Over here!" Temari laughed, she was sitting on her fan which was gliding towards Kin. "I had my wind break the jutsu.. it had been with me the entire time.. it showed me the bells.. but you weren't watching close enough to notice." When it landed she picked the fan up and crouched slightly. "Now it's my turn. Wind psych jutsu!" Kin was quickly dragged backwards into a giant vortex controlled by Temari's chakra. The previous senbon being dragged with her. The wind and weapons taking turns in slashing up her skin. As she finally fell back down from the wind Temari adjusted her fan, Kin landing on her back on the tip of it, blood spilling from her mouth.

"Oh wow.. that girl's really ruthless.." Naruto mumbled.

"Wasn't much of a match. Kinda boring." Temari smirked, throwing the girl from her fan.

"Yup.. it's another win for the sand village.. just like you said it'd be." Choji said, looking over the scene.

"Well of course, that's why I said it." Shikamaru sighed.

"Wow.. looks like we're guarunteed a clean sweep in this round." Kankuro stated.

"That sand team.. is clearly one to be feared.." The Hokage spoke quietly, observing.

"The winner of the third match, Temari." Hayate announced, grimacing slightly. "Next match.. Haruno Sakura verses.. Uchiha.." Hayate cut off coughing.

"What..? They can't pit teammates against each other!" Sakura cried out, Shikamaru's entire team looked over in confusion. Team eight and Naruto looked on at Shinobu with knowing eyes.

"Haruno Sakura verses.. Uchiha Shinobu." He finished before coughing again.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And I left a mean cliff hanger, yes, yes I did XD It will most likely be updated today if not tomorrow. Oh and as AlpenWolf pointed out, I don't want to remove the ACTUAL reviews. I want to remove my responses in the chapter because they take up space and it makes my word count look as if I'm lying. The responses as in the things below this lol.**

* * *

><p><strong>Neko Morie:<strong> D'aww thanks :D That's cool :D When I graduate high school I'm very tempted to take a year (ya.. literally this is kinda lame but awesome)to not only work but travel and go to every single anime convention around the world. Haha. It would make my life to do that. Since not everyone is held at the same time. I could go to anime north in may and october. I could go to metrocon in the summer (i think that's when it is) I could go to anime weekend atlanta in september. Except I bet there's way more than that XD Aww, it sucks that you're not going to go to your XD Happy holidays.

* * *

><p><strong>Alpenwolf: <strong>Haha, no I don't want to remove the actual reviews. I tend to re-read them sometimes because they help me write. I meant that I want to remove my responses to them that I've posted in the chapter. I delete reviews that are only insults when they don't make sense but I tend to like reviews even if they're harsh because I can learn from them. And no problem about the youtube thing. Really? 10 years? That's ridiculous.. O.o.. It definitely made me laugh it's funny :D I wouldn't lie about age on here if I was allowed to share my age. :/ lol. My mom knows I'm writing but I'm not sure if she reads my stories. My reviews make me feel like I'm 10 well, I guess it comes with being young and living with your parent(s). I like being younger for now, less to worry about XD OOPS O.o Thanks for pointing out the rookie ten thing, I fixed it XD I didn't even notice.. then again I was writing that at around 2am. Yay :D I really like Shino but I feel like he doesn't get enough spotlight sometimes, that's why I like sHinobu being on his time XD More people get a chance to like him.. or dislike him but I don't want that XD We'll see. preliminaries? lmfao. Fun word indeed. I'm a little nervous because changing certain things changes BIG things in the later plot events so I keep re-writing the different fights. The first one between Tenten and Shikamaru ended up the exact same as the Shikamaru Kin fight from canon so I re-wrote like 5 more times and I still feel kind of iffy.. :/ Thanks for the review :D


	31. Ugly

**A/N: The song is "Ugly" by Christina Grimmie. Great song for when you're in a bad mood or feel like dancing like an idiot. I recommend listening to it. Anyway, here we go! Shinobu's battle against Sakura. I know I've changed all of the matched but I did not want to follow canon here because if two more names were into the random match up the results just wouldn't be the same. I literally shoved all of the names into an online generator and then worked with the results. Like would really happen. I happen to like most of the results but battle is not my forte.. so ya.. ENJOY :D**

* * *

><p><strong>Sasuke POV<strong>

_"Sweet heart! It's time for dinner!" The young boy heard his mother call as he played in their backyard with his twin sister._

_"Race you back!" The girl yelled before sprinting off in the direction of the house._

_"No fair! You had a head start!" He cried after her as she ran. He won of course, a triumphant smirk covering his features. His onyx eyes sparkling._

_"I did not!" She pouted._

_"Ok ok. Enough. Let's go eat." A slightly older boy shushed them, rolling his eyes as he lead them to the table where their mother was waiting with delicious food. The girl sat between her two siblings as her mother went to get their father who showed up with a small proud smile directed at each of his children before looking at her._

_"Sasuke.. we have something to tell you." The man said, knealing down with a small fake look of concern.. of hurt._

_"What is it daddy?" The young boy asked, confusion flitting across his onyx eyes, he wasn't used to talking to his father as much because of his older brother, Itachi. It was no secret their father preferred him._

_"Well.. when you were born.. you were born right with someone else.. a little girl. She was your twin sister, Sasuke." The young boy's mother started._

_"Ya, I know.. I've met her! She's right-" The boy paused looking to his left to see an empty chair beside him. Where had his sister gone?_

_"What, Sasuke?" The mother asked._

_"N-nothing.. nevermind.." He mumbled._

_"As your mother was saying.. she died at birth.. your mother thought we should tell you.. anyway.. it's time for dinner." The father spoke sternly, quickly changing the subject._

_"I'm not dead.. nii-chan.. I'm right here." The little girl said, her see through figure sitting on the chair beside him.. her large Onyx eyes pleading for him to accept her presence."_

* * *

><p>"You don't exist.. I'm alone.. you don't exist.." Sasuke growled to himself watching the other boy walk down for his fight. He knew he had a sister.. he knew that sister was dead.. as much as he had wished she wasn't, that she was here with him, to help him avenge their clan. She wasn't. She wouldn't never be. She is dead. <em>Shinobu isn't my sister.. Shinobu is a boy.. Stop being delusional Sasuke.. <em> He thought to himself biting his lip, trying to shake the thoughts from his head.. thoughts of what life would have been like had she been there. He wanted to hit himself but he wouldn't allow himself to look stupid in front of all these other people, he wouldn't let himself look weak.

* * *

><p><strong>Kakashi POV<strong>

_Uchiha.. Hmm.. so this is the boy..er.. girl that the Hokage mentioned.. She's grown. I wonder how much she's changed since the academy._

"Shinobu-ch-kun is fighting Sakura-chan..?" Naruto whispered, catching himself as he watched the two girls make their way down to the ground level. Shinobu, of course, looked like a boy. _Was he about to say chan? Why is he being so quiet.. I would think Naruto would normally be cheering Sakura on.. hm.._

"C'mon Shinobu! You can do this!" Kiba cheered from the balcony, a loud bark accompanied him. Hitami barked back before quickly following along the girl's heels. _Shinobu was a stand out in the academy and in the rookie shinobu.. so she has a good chance to win. Especially if she's improved any.. it looks like she has an Inuzuka ninken now and I've already heard from Kurenai that she's been training with the Hyuuga clan.. But she's fighting the girl who should potentially be in her place.. who gets to train and fight along side her brother.. will she be able to go full out? Sakura may be strong.. she has excellent chakra control and a firm knowledge of the basics.. but this may not be a battle she can win._

"Of all the people for Shinobu to go against.." Hinata whispered.

"At least it's not Naruto or Sasuke." Shino stated, watching his teammate. Kakashi, having overheard the conversation between Shinobu's two teammates could have facepalmed at his own stupidity. The ding of sudden realization was ringing in his ears._ This is the girl Naruto lives with. Naruto lives with Shinobu.. that's why he didn't want to cheer.. no matter what someone down their fighting would feel abandoned._

"Begin." Hayate announced and as quick as a flash both kunoichi began into a flurry of punches and kicks, blocking and dodging each other in a dance where, while attacking, neither one made contact. _Sakura is good with taijutsu.. but Shinobu is going easy on her.. it's as if she didn't want to hurt the girl. Shinobu's specialty is taijutsu.. while Sakura is much better with chakra control.. no real specialty. _

No words were passed as they continued, Shinobu flipping backwards every once in a while so she wasn't close enough to cause any real harm. Shinobu managed to get in a hit to Sakura's stomache after dropping her stance a little so she was closer to the ground. As she went to follow up the hit with a punch to the head she froze.

_"This girl means something to Sasuke.. something to Naruto.. will and you're going to hurt her?"_ A voice said to her and she visibly cringed before finding herself skidding backwards into the floor from a well aimed punch from Sakura.

* * *

><p><strong>Shikamaru POV<strong>

_"Shinobu-kun.. are you ok?" A girl asked, quickly linking arms with the new boy._

_"He's fine back off." Shikamaru watched as the boy looked up, confusion evident in her eyes as Kiba gestured for the girls to leave._

_"What do you want?" Shinobu asked, shakily getting to his feet._

_"I was just getting them off your back. Good fight by the way." Kiba had grinned, of course he'd try to make friends with him. Anything to avoid having two Sasuke's at the academy. _

_"Ya.. not exactly how I hoped it would turn out." He let out a small grin but was still cautious, it made him wonder.. why was he like that? Had something happened? Shikamaru felt sort of bad.. he looked so hurt that he had lost.. but it was only one fight.. and his first at that._

_"You did really good Shinobu-kun!" Choji smiled, walking beside Shikamaru as they made their way over._

_"Thanks.. I've never really fought before.. it was.. odd." He said with a grin before looking over her shoulder to see Sasuke storming off, his eyes immediately filled with pain and regret. Upon noticing Shikamaru looking he smiled. _

_"Does he always act like he's got a stick shoved up his butt?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked back at the group of boys who had decided to walk with him back to the academy for lunch._

_"Pretty much." Kiba laughed. "Though I've never heard anyone mention it like that before." _

_"Well it looks like it!" He laughed, straightening his back and walking oddly. It really did look like someone had shoved a stick up his butt. But why didn't he look as happy as he was acting? Something was off about this boy._

_"Sorry for being all Sasuke-ish earlier.. I just am not really good with people I don't know.. though.. you guys seem nice enough." He explained with a soft sigh._

_"Ah, it's fine. By the way.. was that an arabesque earlier?" Shikamaru asked curiously, raising an eyebrow. It seemed oddly girly, it wasn't often that a boy who wanted to be a ninja had also taken dance._

_"Uh.. ya.. how do you know what that is?" Shinobu asked._

_"Shikamaru is really smart!" Choji answered for him before taking another handful of chips. Shikamaru sighed, great, the first thing the new kid was going to know about him is he's a smart ass.. for once he'd like to have a friend who thought he was stupid._

_"Ah, that explains it. But ya. I learned dance when I was younger and it's easier for me to incorporate it with fighting. It makes more sense. If you know what I mean." Shinobu explained.._

_"So that's why you looked so girly fighting." Kiba exclaimed, Shikamaru shook his head but said nothing._

_"I'm a guy thanks, unless you want to admit getting your butt kicked by a girl." Shinobu smirked. He seemed to enjoy talking with us, a first. Not many people who looked like Sasuke or had fangirls like that went anywhere near them.. then again.. the only person other than Shinobu who fit that requirement would be Sasuke himself. Not to mention no girls talked to them other than to yell or talk down to them._

* * *

><p>"Uchiha.. Why didn't I realize earlier.. they look so much a like.." Shikamaru mentally groaned. <em>He seemed so sad whenever the topic of Sasuke came up.. I doubt Sasuke knows anything about it.<em>

"Ya.. that would explain why he was always so focused on Sasuke.. I wonder if he knows." Choji added, watching his old friend. "It also explains why he was so strong, it must be in their blood." Choji grinned as he ate more chips. _A friend is a friend to both of us.. a last name doesn't change that._

* * *

><p><strong>Kakashi POV<strong>

"Sakura.. Shinobu.." Naruto mumbled to himself, eyes trained on the two girls.

"That's it..? That's as good as kunoichi can get at hand to hand combat..?" Neji spoke quietly, also watching the fight.

"What?" Naruto turned around glaring at him.

"It's not because they're girls you know Neji.." Tenten started looking from her teammate to the two fighting girls. "It's just that they're both using kid gloves." She explained. _It would make sense.. Tenten understands.. While Shinobu doesn't want to hurt someone who means something to both Naruto and Sasuke.. Sakura doesn't want to hurt someone who obviously means something to Ino and Naruto.. while they're not particularily close.. the mutual feeling is causing them to play at a lighter level.. this battle could last forever if one of them doesn't drop the gloves soon._

"It doesn't matter if you're a man or a woman in battle." Tenten finished.

"Huh..?" Naruto hmmed, looking at her with wide eyes. It didn't really make sense to him but something seemed off here. Why did Neji call both of them kunoichi.. when Shinobu looked like a boy? "What do you mean using kid gloves?"

Shinobu growled, standing up and starting into a series of flips to get closer to Sakura, occasionally zig-zagging to throw her off before going to punch her.

_"She's just like you.. she's trying to prove herself too.. are you going to shatter that for her?"_

_"Sasuke and Naruto are watching.. they'll think you're weak."_

_"No.. they'll be mad you hurt her.."_

_"Naruto will be proud of you no matter what.."_

_"Are you going to let down your team?"_

"SHUT UP!" Shinobu screamed, slapping Sakura across the face. "S-shut.. up..."

"Huh...?" Sakura looked up, confusion flitting across her features as Shinobu paused looked at her.

"I'm not going to fight with you.. for Sasuke.. or Naruto.. or anyone else.. we're two shinobi.. and I'm going to fight you to become a chunin.. nothing more.. or less. Stop fighting me half heartedly.. if you're not going to go all out.. I don't want to fight you." Shinobu finally said, taking her own forehead protector and moving it to her forehead. While she didn't know about Sakura's arrangement with Ino she did know that the forehead protector represented being a ninja, it represented honor and your village and she was going to wear it on her forehead today to remind herself that she was fighting to become a chunin.

"I...I understand.. Shinobu." Sakura mumbled quietly before looking up to Ino and putting her own forehead protector where it belonged. "Let the real fight begin."

_"This time we're going to do this right.. a fair fight.. and I'm going to win."_

* * *

><p><strong>Neji POV<strong>

_Neji sighed walking towards the branch house. He had finally finished his chores around the main house and he wanted to train more before the sun set. It was just as he was passing Hiashi's quarters when he overheard a voice talking. It wasn't someone he had heard before and as much as he recalled there was no one other than Hinata around their age._

_"I..would n-never betray the Hyuuga clan.. I've already lost one.. why would I want to lose another, Mika-san.. You will never need to use that again.." The voice said, panting. What did the girl do? Where they training? It's none of my business anyway.. Neji quickly ducked into the kitchens so he could hear without being seen._

_"Hmm.. we'll see." A voice he recognized as Mika's said before the sound of the door opening reached his ears. It wasn't until he realized the footsteps were coming towards him that he knew he was in trouble._

_"You! Were you evesdropping on us?" Mika growled._

_"I- no ma'am. I was just going to do some dishes." Neji spoke as evenly as he could. _

_"Well then you can come back and clean the entire kitchen tonight.. including your mouth for lieing. Leave. Now." Mika growled and Neji bowed quickly before obeying._

_"but you are simply my new clan right now. Not my family. Don't get the two confused." The voice spoke sounding very confident, Neji found himself slightly envious.. she spoke to the head of the clan without fear of retribution._

_"Interesting.. Well, I am glad to hear you are here for my daughter and will never betray us.. I hope that last opinion will change over time. You may leave now." A voice, Hiashi stated and the door opened yet again as Neji moved to leave. The girl leaving the office bumped right into him, knocking them both over._

_"I'm sorry!" She bowed as soon as she stood, apologizing. Why is she being so polite?_

_"You bow for a branch member? Though you are treated like a member of the main house by Hiashi-sama.. You don't belong here.. this is not your destiny." Neji replied, trying to hide the smile for her kindness._

_"Is it wrong to bow for someone in apology when you may have hurt them?" She asked, leaving before giving him a chance to answer. He was confused but quickly went back to his own duties. He didn't want to get into trouble a second time that evening._

* * *

><p>Neji looked from the screen and back to the girl, now appearing as a boy who was in the middle of a flip, dodging a punch from Sakura. <em>So that's what she meant by "I've already lost one." But.. why would we allow another clan into ours? Hiashi-sama really trusts her that much? <em>

"YA! Magnificent movement Sakura!" Lee cheered to himself, clenching his fist.

"Aaaaagh!" The two girls growled as they clashed fists each catching the others punch.

"No matter how good Sakura is.. Shinobu is just as good.. this is going to be a long battle." Lee spoke.

"You're wrong Lee.. Shinobu hasn't gone full out yet.. while you haven't seen him in the academy we have and he's on our team. He can hold her own with Sasuke. He's being underestimated here." Kiba grinned, watching his teammate with pride, being careful with his pronouns.

"Hn.. hold her own with the number one rookie of the year?" Neji asked himself. Maybe he too had underestimated her.

* * *

><p><strong>Kakashi POV<strong>

"Sensei.. why did they do that?" Naruto asked looking over to Kakashi. _He's clueless isn't he.._

"It's symbolism.. for them being true shinobi.. neither one is going to back down or pull punches.." Kakashi rattled off watching the two fight. Sakura had reverted to another basic academy technique.. bunshin.

"This isn't some academy graduation exam Sakura." Shinobu shouted, what she didn't expect however was the sudden burst of speed that sent her flying backwards through the air.

"and I'm not some academy student Shinobu.. if you play with fire.. you're going to get burned!" Sakura retorted as Shinobu stood back up. _They're being serious.. but.. why is it that they still seem like they're at the same level. Shinobu normally competes with the boys at our level.. I couldn't imagine her being in loss at a taijutsu battle of strength._

"Powerful strikes using chakra.. top notch for a rookie.. I've never seen Sakura this good." Kakashi spoke, his voice only barely showing his shock.

"Wait.. you're not saying she's better than me are you?" Naruto asked.

"Noo... you're the greatest." Kakashi chuckled. _To do that in conjuction with a well timed jutsu.. I don't even think Sasuke could have done it better.. then again.. even from the start she was good with chakra control.. so this isn't much of a surprise._

"Why you little -aaagh!" Both girls shouted as the flew in opposite directions, each managing to connect a punch but forgetting to block their opponent. Fists simultaneously smashed againsts cheeks.

"Woah!" Naruto spoke in aww. _At this rate.. this battle will never end._

"This has been going on for so long.. they've already been fighting for ten minutes." Hayate murmered, looking for any indicators of forfeit or even exhaustion. While both girls were tired neither looked anywhere close to being ready to give up.

"Sorry Sakura. It's time to end this.. I didn't want to hurt you but.. I can't lose here." Shinobu spoke, shifting stance causing many of the jounin the room to look on with widened eyes. _She knows the Hyuuga fighting style? But she doesn't have byakugan.. how much damage could she cause?_

"What.. that's Hinata's fighting style.." Sakura spoke softly stepping backwards. Without any warning Shinobu charged forward quickly slipping from the hyuuga stance to go into a series of flips, landing behind Sakura. She swivelled around changing stances before attacking and hitting many points on her arms. _No way.. could she actually hit the points?_

Sakura whimpered looking at her right arm which broke out into a yellow-ish bruised colour. While Shinobu had managed to block several chakra points she had accidently hit another point allowing a greater chakra flow at the same time. While this was effective in stopping an enemy it caused a kinda of build up which was bursting in Sakura's arm. Sort of like when you kink a hose when filling up a water balloon, the balloon stops filling up for a moment but then when you let the kink go the water goes out of the hose at such a rate that the balloon pops almost instantly.

* * *

><p><strong>Kiba POV<strong>

_"To clarify.. there are three living Uchiha's and you are one of them but you were abandoned by your family because of your gender. You covered it up to become stronger and now you're living with Naruto?" Shino asked, Kiba looked between his two teammates in slight confusion. How did Shino understand so quickly? It's confusing._

_"Yes."_

_"S-so you're a g-girl?" Hinata asked._

_"Yes."_

_"You're related to that bastard?" Kiba asked dumbfounded still, trying to look at her at different angles. She sure looked like a guy. How had she managed to fool them all for all of this time?_

_"Yes."_

_"Does the Hokage know you are living with Naruto?" Kurenai asked, concern showing in her eyes._

_"Yes."_

_"Wait.. so.. how come you don't have boobs?" Kiba finally asked after another moment of silence, his eyebrows were furrowed. Was she really that good at acting or was this some prank?_

_"Kai." Shinobu said simply, letting the jutsu drop. She didn't have a particularily large chest area but she was only twelve and she was so muscular.. she barely had any fat on her. But she did have enough for Kiba to notice, he looked awestruck as her long hair fell around her shoulders._

_"You still look like Sasuke.. you have the same face.. just.. prettier eyes.. and a smaller jaw." Kiba muttered, digging a hole in the ground with his heel and quickly shutting up._

_"Well.. we are identical twins.." Shinobu smiled half-heartedly, Kiba felt his heart breaking slightly. She looked so sad... how had she managed to smile for so long around him and her other friends when she was hiding who she really was? How could she be around her own brother every day without letting slip to them how much it hurt her._

_"Wait... what a-about Ino-chan?" Hinata asked, having realized the girl's crush early on._

_"Oh my.. and all your fangirls.." Kiba sat wide eyed before bursting into laughter, the idea of all of these girls having mental break downs cracked him up._

_"I'll have to tell them eventually I guess.. but not yet.. right now it can remain between you guys, the Hokage and Naruto.. oh.. and Moegi." She grinned. Her teammates looked confused but didn't say anything._

_"What about Akio?" Shino asked._

_"I'm telling him I don't like him like that and I'm sorry.." Shinobu sighed and Kiba couldn't help but feel slightly happy. He would admit he was protective over the girl.. even when he thought she was a boy. They were fairly close friends since they were little.. but everything seemed to click into place now._

_"You know he has an issues with women right?" Kiba asked, not wanting her to get hurt in the process of telling Akio._

_"Ya.. I kind of wish I knew why but it's his business and my nose isn't going anywhere near it." She smiled.. she looked a lot prettier when she smiled.. compared to when she cried. He hated how she looked when she cried. _

_"So does this mean you're going to start being a girl around us now?" Kurenai asked._

_"No.. I don't want to be under-estimated, I don't want people asking questions and I'm too used to fighting as a girl now.. thinking of the number of times you've punched me in the chest it's probably safer on my part to remain a guy during combat." Shinobu grinned and Kiba's face flushed. The group exited the tent and Shinobu quickly put on some clothes that were her own before switching the genjutsu back and exiting herself, heading towards Akio._

_"One last question.. why were you crying..?" Kiba asked, stopping her before she could reach Akio._

_"Nightmare.." She mumbled._

_"Of what..?"_

_"My father killed everyone in team eight because I was too weak.." She replied quietly, looking away._

* * *

><p>"Now everyone knows she's related to him somehow.. but she still has to hide so much.. she's stronger than people give her credit for. I know I wouldn't be able to hide all that for that long. Yet she manages to do it with a smile.. even when her heart is breaking and she feels like crying.. she smiles so she doesn't worry the people around her." Kiba thought to himself as he watched her continue to fight, a fierce determination in her eyes. <em>She's still trying so hard to win everyone over.. trying so heard to prove herself to people who don't even notice her.<em> He looked over at Sasuke who was watching her with an odd intensity. _He's watching you now Shinobu.. he notices now._

"Katon! Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" Shinobu's voice echoed off of the walls as Kiba sheilded his face from the heat of her jutsu. Blinding fire filled the entire are below and smoke made it nearly impossible to see. Even when the flames were gone everything was coated in smoke.

"Hinata.. can you see them?" Kiba asked, noticing his teammate had activated her byakugan.

"Yes.. Shinobu is still attacking Sakura but Sakura can't defend herself all that well in there..." Hinata explained, concentrating on the battle.

"Hinata.. can you tell what she's thinking?" Kiba asked one last time, looking away from the smoke pit.

"If I were to guess.. I'd say she's thinking 'I am not going to lose'." Hinata smiled slightly. Kiba nodded turning back to scene before him. _That does sound like her._

* * *

><p><strong>Naruto POV<strong>

_"Shinobu? What happened to you?" Ayame cried in worry when the young girl walked in and placed herself on a stool._

_"Training..!" She tried to exclaim but it was mixed with a gigantic yawn._

_"Training for what?" The ramen assistant asked in confusion._

_"To get stronger! I was practicing a.. what was it called.. a jutsu?" She told her uncertainly._

_"So you want to be a ninja, now, do you?" Tseuchi asked with a chuckle as he brought her a bowl of ramen._

_"What's a ninja?" Shinobu asked, her eyebrows knitted as she racked her brain, trying to figure out where she had heard the term before._

_"A ninja is someone who fights to protect their village! I'm gonna be the Hokage some day! The strongest ninja there is!" A boy yelled with a grin as he sat on the stool next to her, quickly recieving a bowl of ramen._

_"Hi, Naruto-kun! Shinobu, this is Naruto, one of our regular customers." Ayame smiled._

_"Hey, Shinobu! Are you in the ninja academy?" He asked while shoveling ramen into his mouth._

_"Hn. No." She said monotonously, her expression going blank._

_"You sound like Teme... whatever.. see ya 'round." He grinned and ran off, leaving money on the counter._

* * *

><p>"She always did act like him.. why didn't anyone look close enough to notice?" Naruto mumbled to himself with a bittersweet smile as he looked over at Sasuke. His eyes trained on the fight before. Maybe he would notice.. maybe Sasuke would be happy.. and they'd be family.. Shinobu could go live with him.. <em>But what about me..? She's my family too.. <em>He sighed, his thoughts switching gears as smoke filled the room. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that Shinobu was going to win, Sakura may be smart and good with chakra controll.. but Shinobu was strong.. strong in mind.. strong bodied and extremely strong willed. She would never give up. _Sorry Sakura... _

Everyone watched in silent anticipation as the smoke cleared revealing a yipping dog running back up to the stands to meet Kiba while Shinobu stood, carrying an unconscious Sakura over to the medical staff.

"Winner, Shinobu!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And there goes the first emotional fight. :D I hope you enjoyed, stay tuned for the next battles. Sorry about all the flash backs but I felt like they were necessary to know where each person's head was at.**

* * *

><p><strong>chibichibi98: <strong>Haha, sorry about that XD Hmm.. so many possibilities eh? Thanks for the review :D I will/did lol.

* * *

><p><strong>XxInuzukaxX: <strong>Haha, alright thanks for answering :D That would definitely be traumatizing for her. Thanks so much I try my best with Naruto. Oh really? :D Thanks! I always thought I was rather weak with battles but I'm glad you liked them so much XD

* * *

><p><strong>miscellaneousSam:<strong> Haha, I'm glad you like it so much. I haven't seen you review before but on the bright side I'm on my super spree weeks (Christmas holidays) not even a day later and voila an update XD Thanks so much for the review :D

* * *

><p><strong>Alpenwolf: <strong>Ya those, I think what I'm going to do is delete the ones for the people who say it's fine and then keep the ones up for the people who think they should stay. I think.. I dunnno. Haha. You should :P It would be awesome I can imagine. I love the voices XD All characters have their un-noticeable moments in the beginning, but you learn to love them all xD I remember when I couldn't remember who tenten was now it's like, how could I forget? I always like Shikamaru though XD He just seemed so lazy XD Definitely hard to write but totally worth it to the story line, especially if you write them well XD Thanks for the review :D


	32. Choose Your Fate

**A/N: And another update? Gosh I'm really on a role O.o I'm looking forward to seeing PheonixOfTears after all this time, it's what five updates in two days? Haha. Hope you're all enjoying and here we go :D.**

**P.S the song is "Choose Your Fate" by Story of The Year. It's kinda of screamy at parts but his voice when he's singing is amazing and if you look at the lyrics it can really apply to the Hyuuga clan. **

* * *

><p><strong>Kiba POV.<strong>

"YES! She won! Go Shinobu!" Kiba cheered, leaning over the railing towards her. "You ok down there?"

"Good job Shinobu!" Hinata called down a little more discretely with a small smile. Neji looked over at her, slightly shocked, but said nothing.

"Thanks! I'm fine.. just a scratch or two." Shinobu grinned, feeling much more confident after the fight but extremely exhausted. Had she had to fight again she would lose with in the first thirty seconds, she had virtually no chakra left and barely enough strength to make her way up to the balcony before her legs gave way. "Sakura is really strong." Shinobu smiled, looking after the medical team that was checking on her before Kakashi went down to bring her back to the balconies.

"You did a great job." Shino smiled.

"Thank you, Shino." Shinobu yawned before leaning against Kiba. "Wake me up when one of you guys have to fight? Or Naruto? Or Neji?" She asked letting her eyelids droop shut. Kiba was about to chuckle a yes in response when Hayate coughed to get their attention.

"Round five. Hyuuga Neji verses Inuzuka Kiba!" He called out before convulsing into another fit of coughs.

"Well that was quick." Kiba smirked shaking the already sleeping girl on his shoulder. "Hey, look. Both Neji and I have to fight." He grinned.

"Seriously.. you suck match box thing.." Shinobu sighed switching from leaning on Kiba to leaning on the railing. "Try and kick his as-rear quick so I can go back to sleep would you?" Shinobu grinned, quickly changing her words upon noticing Kurenai hovering near by.

"I'll do my best, Akamaru." He winked before leaving to the now soot filled battle ground.

"Kiba-kun.." Hinata whispered to herself looking from her cousin to her teammate.

"Don't worry about him Hinata.. he's strong. Even if he loses.. he'll be fine." Shinobu grinned, seemingly more awake and ready to watch the match.

"Yes but.. Neji doesn't particularily care for him.. they've got in quarrels before.." Hinata mumbled.

"Yes, and they made it out fine then right? I like Neji.. I really do but sometimes he has a more of a stick up his as-rear.. then Sasuke does. Kiba will be fine, if anything maybe Neji can learn from this." Shinobu grinned, once again correcting herself, Kiba was having a horrible influence on her usage of bad words.

"What's wrong Hinata-chan?" Naruto grinned walking over, tilting his head in confusion.

"N-nothing." Hinata mumbled, turning a bright shade of red.

"That's her cousin down there.. she's worried for both her teammate and her cousin.. she doesn't want either one to get too hurt but she's more worried for Kiba and his god-awful temper." Shinobu explained.

"Oh.. I understand Hinata." He paused scootching closer to her so Shinobu couldn't here. "It was kind of like that when Shinobu and Sakura fight.. Shinobu is my family.. but Sakura is my teammate.. it's hard to know which one to cheer for.. but don't worry. You just have to be happy for which ever one wins and help which ever one loses. Neither of them will get too hurt." He grinned, hugging her. Shinobu could only grin at the look of shock and happiness on Hinata's face.

"T-thank you Naruto-kun." Hinata smiled.

"No problem." He laughed before moving back to sit with his team.

"You know, you only stuttered twice there." Shinobu smiled looking back from her oblivious friend to her zoned out teammate.

"Begin!" Hayate shouted.

"Before we begin. I'd like to say something, Kiba. You should forfeit now. You will not win against me. I am a genius.. it is already fate for me to win. You, you waste your time cheering on my cousin. She should quite being a ninja. She's too kind.. she wishes for harmony and avoids conflict, she agrees with others.. never resisting. She has no confidence in herself everyone can feel her sense of inferiority that's why she should stay a genin or quit. But you have to enter this exam with a team.. she simply entered unwillingly so as to not let either of you down. She thinks solely of others. You and Shinobu have that problem in common, you waste your time focusing on her.. trying to change something that cannot be changed instead of improving yourselves."

"You're wrong Neji.. Hinata may be kinda.. she may want harmony and she tries her best to avoid conflict.. but that doesn't make her a bad ninja.. that makes her one of the best ninja.. she would make a great leader.. or team captain. She had a growing confidence in herself and each day she's proving more and more to herself and the people around her. If you cared for her or were around at all you'd know that. She's strong and I believe in her, Shinobu believes in her.. that's why we're here. Hinata came here of her own accord too.. we all had the option of waiting and we all wanted to go ahead as a team. You belittle her.. while you are the one who needs to improve, Neji." Kiba grinned, looking him straight in the eye. "You can predict fate.. but I already know Hinata's.. and I know you're wrong. She's trying her best to change herself.

Hinata smiled slightly to herself, watching the confrontation with widened eyes. Kiba was defending her and while it hurt hearing Neji's words part of her knew he cared.. it wasn't like he was saying anything bad about her.

"You ok, Hinata?" Shinobu asked, eyebrows creased in concern.

"Yes.. Kiba is right.. I-I... I'm here.. because I just wanted to change myself. T-to do it myself." Hinata smiled.

"Kiba is right.. don't worry.. Neji will see one day. Until then we'll just keep improving." Shinobu grinned.

"Then it's as I thought.. she's just a spoilt brat of the main house. People cannot just change themselves." Neji spat. "Losers are losers.. their personalities and strengths will not change. Because people cannot change differences are born. Expressions like elite and loser are created. Looks, Brains, Ability, Size, Personality.. All people judge and are judged in these values. Based on these unchangeable factors, people discriminate and are discriminated against.. and they suffer within their own means. Just like the fact that I am from the branch house and you are from the main house cannot be changed."

"You're wrong Neji.. just because you accepted the views on yourself from your clan does not mean they're true. You can change yourself, I can change myself.. and she can and will change herself." Kiba shouted as Neji activated his byakugan.

"You can't fool my eyes.. just now your eyes floated to the upper left.. showing that you are thinking about your past.. and your experiences.. and her experiences.. then they went to the lower right.. that is a sign that you are imagining physical and mental pain.. you are predicting the end of this match along with the end of Hinata-sama's journey. Imagining that you'll both lose."

"N-no!" Kiba growled.

"And now, the way you're holding your arms in front of you, you're trying to create a wall or barrier between us.. to stop me from telling what you're thinking.. because everything I have said thus far has been completely correct. Further more, biting your lip is a personality trait revealing disturbance. It's a defense mechanism to help calm your nerves because you're not only angry but you're nervous. The pain stops your thoughts from becoming blurry so you don't lose track of what you're thinking. So haven't you already realized..? No one can change-"

"YOU CAN! Stop deciding things about other people you idiot! Kick that bastard's ass Kiba!" Naruto shouted over the railing, Neji's speech getting on his nerves. Shinobu grinned at him, she had been just about ready to do the same. Neji was wrong.. about Kiba and herself.. and about Hinata.

"I planned on it, Naruto." Kiba grinned back up, Akamaru agreeing with a loud, resonating bark.

"So you won't forfeit? Then I am not responsible for what happens to you." Neji stated.

"Hinata wouldn't run away and neither would I." Kiba declared with a grin, running towards Neji to start a flurry of fists.

"No! You idiot.." Shinobu face palmed.

"You'd think he would have learned that going into close combat with a Hyuuga is not a good thing." Shino sighed.

"Y-yes.. but he's also learned how to fight against our technique." Hinata pointed out, watching as Kiba managed to dodge a good chunk of Neji's attacks and land a hit hear and there. It was only when he took a slight hit to the chest that she let out a worried gasp.

"No, don't worry Hinata.. that's not deep enough to do any damage." Naruto grinned slightly while watching the match.

"No.. A slight touch is enough." Lee stated, watching the fight with wide eyes. "That's what makes the Hyuuga clan so great."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Sakura asked, leaning around Naruto to look at Lee.

"The Hyuuga have a special taijutsu that has been passed down." Gai started explaining. "The taijutsu that Lee and I use causes damage by injuring the body and breaking bones. It's a fighting style that aims to damage the outer body. You could call it an 'iron fist' style. While Hyuuga causes damage by flowing their chakra into the opponents 'inner coils system'. A technique that destroys the inner organs, a 'gentle fist' style."

"It may not look impressive, but you'll definitely feel it afterwards.. Well, you can't train your inner body. It can be a critical hit for even the toughest guys." Kakashi added.

"To attack the 'Inner Coils System.' Who are these people?" Sakura said in awe, watching the fight.

"Hey! Hey! What's this coils system thingy." Naruto asked.

"Not your stupid questions again.." Sakura groaned.

"Hey.. they're not stupid.. not everyone knows this stuff." Shinobu rolled her eyes.

"Here let me explain. Like the veins that carry your blood the 'inner coils system' carries chakra through out your body." Lee interjected

"Kind of like a chakra high way?" Naruto asked.

"Yes.. and the 'inner coils' surround all of your chakra producing organs. So if you attack the 'inner coils system' you also cause damage to those organs." He finished.

"Wow.. you're actually smart." Naruto grinned.

"How rude can you be?" Sakura asked, hitting him over the head.

"Ow..."

"But how can they even do that?" Sakura asked. "It's not like the 'inner coils system' is visible. How do you attack coils that are inside the body."

"No.. With the eyes Neji and Hinata have.. with the byakugan.. you can see it." He explained. "That and the attacks of the gentle fist is different from a normal attack. You release chakra from your palms and it flows into your opponents body. This causes direct damage to the 'inner coils system'. Kakashi finished.

"Kiba!" Shinobu shouted, she, while the others were busy talking, had been paying attention to the fight. Neji had just landed two consecutive hits to Kiba's arm and chest. Even while Kiba was landing hits and Akamaru was distracting Neji he hadn't been given a chance to use any real jutsu and he just wasn't causing enough damage.

"Kiba-kun.." Hinata whispered, looking on with worried eyes.

"You should be filled with desperation.. you know you will lose.. forfeit." Neji stated.

"No.. I won't give up." Kiba panted, glaring at his opponent. "I'd rather lose fair and square.. then forfeit. Otherwise.. Hinata.. Shinobu.. I.. We would be just like you said we are.. losers.. but we are not.. a loser.. is someone who doesn't try.. someone who gives up. We will never be losers!" Kiba shouted running towards Neji with Akamaru before performing a few familiar hand seals. "Fang over Fang!" He growled, quickly transforming into a set of torpedos heading towards Neji.

"This match is over.." Kurenai sighed. "Even if he can still manage to do some attacks.. they're weaker and he's already taken too much damage."

"Ya.. but for a guy like this to exist.. frankly speaking.. even our Sasuke would have no chance against him." Kakashi muttered, more to himself than anything.

"Incredible eyes.." Shikamaru muttered in awe.

"You know that guy's strength.. it's almost unfair.. he's seriously too strong." Sakura whispered.

"You can do it Kiba!" Shinobu shouted, watching as Neji got drilled into the concrete behind him. Part of her heart sunk when Kiba backed away.. the attack had barely done anything to Neji.. normally it caused a serious amount of damage. She watched as Neji darted forward quickly hitting several places on his abdomen and chest causing him to double over, coughing up blood.

"It's over." Neji stated, looking down on Kiba before turning to face Hinata on the balcony.

"Even still.. you get your teammates to stand up for you.. never standing up for yourself. They are wrong about you, Hinata-sama. From the time of your birth the responsibilities of the main house have been forced upon you. You have always hated yourself for your weakness, but people cannot change.. that is destiny. There is no more need for your teammate to suffer in your place. Let it and him go."

"That's not true.. brother Neji. Because I can see it! It's not me at all." Hinata spoke up, looking down at her cousin. She wasn't going to cave in under his eyes.. not when Kiba fought so hard for her. "The person lost and suffering with in the destiny of the main and branch houses is you." Like on a dime Neji immediately darted forward to Kiba, anger shown clearly in his lavendar eyes.

"Oh no. Neji-kun! This match is over!" Hayate yelled, all of the jounin jumping into action to stop the boy from harming Kiba any more.

"I'm not done yet!" Kiba growled in-between coughs. Shinobu sighed slightly before jumping over the railing and making her way towards him.

"You did a great job Kiba.. you protect your honor.. our honor.. it's ok.. it's over." Shinobu whispered, pulling his arms away from his feeble fighting stance.

"B-but.." He attempted to sway her but was quickly interrupted.

"No buts.. you did great.. now you need to rest." She ordered, he needed medical attention now.

"Fine.." Kiba sighed, looking dejected.. he felt like he failed even if his whole team knew he hadn't. "Gaah!" Kiba let out a low groan as he double over coughing up more blood.

"Kiba! Where is the medical team?" Shinobu shouted laying her teammate down.

"We're coming!" A man in a white uniform responded, running over with several others behind him.

"His heart beat is erratic.. was Neji trying to kill him?" Kurenai glared over at the other genin.

"If you have time to glare at me.. then try to help him." Neji responded with a slight smirk.

"At this rate he won't last ten minutes! Take him to the emergency room quick!"

"I'm going with him!" Shinobu shouted quickly, attempting to follow the stretcher.

"We can't have other people in there, I'm sorry." A man spoke quickly before running after the stretcher.

"Don't worry.. they'll keep me updated.. I'll tell you what's going on.. for now let's support Hinata.. she still has to fight." Kurenai sighed with worried eyes, watching the stretcher disappear from view.

"Neji..." Shinobu growled before the other genin could be guided away by the other medical staff. "You... I.. I promise you.. You are going down!" She shouted the challenge, bringing her fist up in front of her. She felt a little bit like Naruto in the moment.. but she didn't care. He would lose.. she would show him that people could change.

"hn..."

* * *

><p><strong>Kankuro POV<strong>

_That boy is so clueless it's funny.. It's like she doesn't even notice the difference in ability. That other boy was like that too.. Naruto. I think it was. Are all of the leaf ninja stupid?_ Kankuro thought, smirking to himself. _But that Neji guy.. it's like he sustained no damage and he's still hiding his powers.. I need to think up a plan for when the main event comes.. I should go gather some information.. I know! I'll ask that Naruto-idiot!_ He grinned to himself as he scanned the area to find the blond.

"Shinobu... Kiba-kun.." Hinata whispered.

"He'll be ok.. he has to be ok.." Shinobu muttered to herself as she made her way back to the balconies.

"Hey! You're a funny guy.. I like you!" Kankuro grinned, making his way over to Naruto.

"You're not funny.. I don't like you." Naruto replied with a slightly confused frown. _How dare you! I'll kill you! Bastard! _"What do you want?" Naruto asked, still frowning.

"Oh uh.. it's about the Neji Hyuuga guy but-"

"I'm going to kick his ass! Well.. if Shinobu doesn't first." Naruto exclaimed.

"No..nobody is asking about that." Kankuro replied.

"Next round.. Kankuro verses.. Akimichi Choji!" Hayate announced once everyone was gone from the fighting area.

"Oh.. and there goes my chance to get info.." Kankuro sighed before making his way to the ground level, careful not to step in blood from the last match.

"I'm just going to forfeit.. it's one of the sand guys.. I don't want to die yet." Choji muttered, looking at his teammates.

"So you don't want barbeque after this then?" Asume asked raising an eyebrow.

"I.. no.. but.. I want to eat meeeaaat!" He pouted, mentally struggling on what he should do before nodding to himself and leaving the balcony.

"You bribed him.. seriously?" Shikamaru asked with a smirk.

"It worked, didn't it?" Asuma grinned.

"Um.. well then, match six, begin!" Hayate called out before jumping back away from the two contenders.

"You can do it, Choji!" Shikamaru grinned yelling.

"FATASS!" Ino screamed after him, trying to use his taboo word to get her teammate worked up.

"Those guys better watch it! I'll win this match quickly and tear them up!" Choji shouted, a large tic mark forming on his forehead.

"Well then, I guess I'll end this for you quick then, fatty." Kankuro smirked, pulling the mummified object off his back and slamming it into the ground beside him.

"I don't care if you are from the sand you mummified freak! I'm going to win! Plus, I'm not fat! I'm PLEASANTLY PLUMP!" Choji roared. _Pleasantly plump my ass.. you'd do better not to underestimate me chubby._

"Alright Choji! Crush him!" Ino cheered.

"Something seems off here.. the sand guy doesn't look the least bit worried.." Shinobu murmured watching her friend spin around the room while blocking her face from the shards of cement that went flying in his trail.

".. Well that was quick.." Naruto spoke, wide eyed as he looked down over the scene. The sand genin lay limp against the wall near choji, his arm jutting at an odd angle while his neck looked snapped.

"His neck is broken.." Lee muttered.

"Wait.. I don't think he's dead." Shikamaru stated, his eyes narrowed.

"Good.. I don't think Choji would handle his first kill very well right now.." Asuma thought to himself.

"Did I win?" Choji whispered, looking at his opponent.

"Nope. Does this mean it's my turn now?" Kankuro grinned, turning his head at an impossible angle to reveal that his face had literally cracked in half. Underneath the skin was a puppet with oddly ringed eyes.

"W-what? It's a puppet? Then.. that.. is the real one!" Choji gulped looking over his shoulder to see the previously mummified figure escape to reveal Kankuro in a fighting stance controlling the figure that was now wrapping it's wooden limbs around Choji, locking him into place.

"Maybe if I break your bones you'll be a little skinnier, eh chubby?" Kankuro grinned.

"I.. Give u- aaagh!" Choji yelled, the constricting wooden limbs crushing his torso and making it hard to breath.

"Phew.. I almost ended that one early.. This battle cannot be continued.. Winner Kankuro!" Hayate announced, watching as the puppet dropped a gasping Choji to the ground.

"Hey are you alright?" One of the enarby medics asked Choji.

"I..wanna eat..meat.." He groaned.

"And is opponent wasn't even trying." Shikamaru sighed.

"Oh well, he lost but I guess I'll take him to eat some steaks." Asuma chuckled.

"Two on one is cheating! Is that allowed, Kakashi sensei?" Naruto asked in alarm.

"It's not cheating, that's just a doll." Kakashi sighed at his student's stupidity. Maybe he should make him re-learn some of the academy stuff.

"That's puppet no jutsu." Sakura explained. "It's controlling a doll and using it as a weapon with your chakra. It's the same as a shuriken or any other tool."

"We will now begin the seventh match." Hayate announced.

"Geez geez! There's a bunch of weirdo's here!" Naruto grumbled.

"Like you're one to talk." Kakashi chuckled.

"Haha, good one sensei." Sakura laughed.

"This is no time for laughing, Sakura.. Look." Kakashi stated, pointing at the screen.

"Uzumaki Naruto verses Hyuuga Hinata!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I think I'm addicted to cliff hangers :P I bet none of you saw that one coming (Even my editor.. er.. well she doesn't really edit anymore, she's more of a reader now.. was shocked when I showed her the set up for this one) I'll update again soon XD Hope you enjoyed.**

* * *

><p><strong>technogeek29: <strong>Aw, thank you for the review, I'm glad you liked it.

* * *

><p><strong>girl-of-anime: <strong>Possibly ;D is that cruel? Haha. I will keep updating atleast bi-daily for the next week or so, so no worries there. The answer to your very question is coming up soon too :DThanks for the review :D

* * *

><p><strong>miscellaneousSam: <strong>Haha it's ok, not everyone can review every time :D I'm grateful for the times you have, though. Thanks so much! I'm glad you liked this one, I was a little worried about it to be honest, because it was a little different than my normal chapters. SO MANY FLASHBACKS XD


	33. Ashley

**A/N: Alrighty so the song is "Ashley" by Escape the fate and I am literally begging you to not only listen to it but read the lyrics. I have never found such a fitting song for one of my chapters in my life. It literally applies to everything so perfectly I just about had a heart attack when I found it. Just interchange the name Ashley for Naruto of course and voila. Now onward! To the epic emotional battle of a lifetime :D Er.. I hope :D**

* * *

><p><strong>Hinata POV<strong>

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata stuttered, her heart rising into her throat. _How can I fight him? If I win.. he'll lose.. what if he gets mad at me? Not that I could win.. b-but.. I can't hurt him.. there's no way I can fight him.. maybe I should forfeit.. but then I'd be letting my team down.. after all Neji said and how hard Kiba fought.. for me to give up would just mean I'm proving brother Neji right.. I would be a loser.. but.. I can't hurt him._

"Hinata-chan! Come on, everyone is waiting!" Naruto grinned, waving at her from over by Hayate. _He looks so happy.. maybe he thinks he's going to win for sure now.. That's probably it._

"Hinata.. you'll do fine.. Naruto is just excited it's his turn to fight. He won't be mad as long as you're trying your best.. even if he loses. Trust me." Shinobu smiled, ushering her towards the stairs.

"I-I.. b-but what if I forfeit..?" Hinata asked.

"Then I think he'll be disappointed, if anything he'll be cheering you on, Hinata."

"You can do it." Shino added with a small smile.

"Thanks guys.. I'll.. I'll try my best." She smiled making her way down to face Naruto, playing with her thumbs as Hayate announced the beginning of the match.

"We're both going to try are best, right? Hinata-chan?" Naruto grinned holding out his hand to shake Hinata's. _Naruto-kun.. Thank you.. "I don't go back on my word.. that's my ninja way." I also.. won't run away.. _

"I.. I no longer want to run away." Hinata said grasping his hand, a faint blush on her cheeks. "I w-will try my best. Naruto-kun."

"Heh, alright Hinata-chan!" Naruto grinned, shaking her hand before drawing back to begin the match.

"Pfft.. acting like that before a match.. they are enemies.. yet they treat each other like comrades.." Kankuro snorted.

"I'm not sure how you are in the village of the sand.. but here.. wearing that leaf headband.. that bands us together.. as long as you are wearing that forehead protector.. you are an ally. No matter what battle you are in." Shinobu stated, watching the two with pride. No matter who won she'd be happy. They were both going to try there best.. and for Hinata to make such a big jump forward.. she was proud.

"Byakugan.." Hinata whispered, the veins around her eyes swelling as she slid back into her clan's stance.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!"

"Weird people here.." Kankuro murmured.. looking away from Shinobu and back at the match.

"I could say the same about you." She grinned. "Go Hinata-chan! Go Naruto! You can do it!" She shouted, grinning at both of them.

Hinata's eyes widened as ten Naruto's grinned back at her. _I must stay focused. But which one of them is real? They all have chakra flowing through them... _

Hinata looked through them all, trying to find some sign of difference. Something to indicate which one of them she was supposed to attack, but as she was looking he charged forward.

"What's with all of my friends being idiots? You're not supposed to attempt close combat with Hyuuga's... dear lord." Shinobu groaned watching as Hinata was quickly surrounded. She slid into her stance, swiveling her feet to attack and defend as they tried to ambush her. One by one they all disappeared in a puff of smoke until no one could see what was going on. It wasn't until she heard a loud 'thud' that Shinobu knew the real Naruto had been hit.

"Good one, Hinata!" Naruto grinned slightly standing back up, mentally wondering what effect her attack had on his organs. _Is he ok..? _"Don't get distracted though, I'm not out yet!" He shouted, a clone appearing behind her and kicking out her legs causing her to fall backwards. Expecting her to land on her back Naruto quickly got out a kunai so he could pin her and win without hurting her. Instead, however, the girl let her hands hit the ground so her feet went up, flipping over so she was standing a safe distance from Naruto.

"Y-you shouldn't get distracted either, Naruto-kun." Hinata smiled. _Naruto-kun.. I've always watched you.. Watched you for all these years! Why is that..? _Hinata thought entering a parry of punches with Naruto with him trying to knock her over while she tried to disable his chakra. Both of them simply aiming to disable, not hurt. The Hokage and surrounding leaf jonin all noticed this, smiling slightly. _"But I can do it I'm incredible." I don't know why but.. when I look at you.. "I won't lose to you bastards!" ..I feel courage. I feel that if I try my best.. even I can do it. _

"Aack!" Hinata let out a small cry when she went flying backwards. "G-good aim, N-naruto-kun."

"Thanks, are you ok?" He replied, grinning when she nodded. _I begin to feel.. that I am worth something. _Hinata grinned to herself, quickly darting forward and flipping around Naruto so she could hit him square in the back.

"You used to always be a quitter.. but you began to try to change yourself.. I know better than anyone the tough training you put yourself through." Kurenai smiled, watching Hinata get back up after another hit. "But you were weak when it mattered most.. and it caused you to lose confidence. Your team.. you started gaining it back with them.. they helped build you up make you stronger.. even so.. I have never seen such determination.. in your eyes." She murmured.

Hinata lay still for a moment, a particularily bad combo from Naruto had knocked her down. _Naruto-kun.. in the past.. I was the only one looking. _

"Alright this ma-" Hayate started.

"No! Don't stop it." Naruto shouted, watching Hinata. _But right now.. you are..you're finally watching me.. In front of the person I admire.. I can't look bad.. I won't give up. _She smiled to herself before struggling standing back up.

"I said I'd t-try my best.. I don't go back on my word.. that is also my ninja way." Hinata said firmly, sliding back into her stance.

"Alright, you can do it Hinata!" Naruto grinned, it felt a little weird.. for him to be cheering her on when he was supposed to be fighting her.. but she didn't mind either.

"You too." She smiled, dashing forward and knocking him backwards. He was already tired from his fights in the forest.. if she could just hold out.. maybe she could win this.

"I never knew.. Hinata was this incredible.." Naruto whispered to himself, watching the lavendar eyed girl in awe as he attempted to block her consecutive kicks. She wasn't slowing down or stopping her movements to give him a chance to get free.

"I can do this." She whispered, swerving on her foot and kicking his shoulder so he was trapped between her and the wall. Quickly pulling out a kunai she dropped her foot and closed the gap between them, gently pressing it to his neck.

"Uh.. Hinata? I think you won." Naruto grinned, watching the girl's face continue to turn a dark red. "Hinata? Hinata?"

"She just fainted didn't she.." Shinobu sighed with a small smile.

"Ya.. she did." Kankuro replied, dumbfounded.

"Winner.. Naruto Uzumaki.." Hayate smiled shaking his head as Naruto picked up the girl, bringing her back to her team.

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

"I'd say good job, but you just got your butt beaten by a girl." Shinobu teased, taking her teammate.

"What? She's stronger than people have been giving her credit for.. besides.. I might have gone easy on her." He grinned, scratching the back of his head.

"Naruto you idiot! You almost lost!"

"Sorry Sakura-chan!"

"Next match, Gaara verses Rock Lee."

"Wooot! It's finally my turn! Yes!" Lee grinned jumping down to meet an emotionless sand ninja.

"Seriously.. are all of the leaf ninja stupid? That kid is going to die if he doesn't watch it." Kankuro grumbled.

"He's stronger than he looks, we all are.. we're just.. a little happier than you and the other sand ninja. It's called smiling.. you should seriously try it some time." Shinobu smirked.

"Some people aren't meant to smile.." Kankuro shuddered.

"Why not..?" Shinobu asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"It looks wrong.. unnatural.. creepy as hell. A lot of the people in the sand have the smiles of nightmares." Kankuro chuckled.

"I don't believe that.. if you were honestly happy and smiling.. for a not so disturbing reason.. I don't think it would be creepy. Your smile just then wasn't creepy." Shinobu retorted, pouting slightly.

"Ya.. you keep thinking that, Onyx." Kankuro chuckled slightly before training his eyes back to his brother, watching with wary eyes as Lee darted around him, attempting to break his sand barrier.

"Onyx? Why did you just call me Onyx?" Shinobu asked, slightly confused and taken a back.

"Because you have onyx eyes and I don't know your name." Kankuro stated simply.

"It said it on the match box thing, didn't it?" Shinobu asked rolling her eyes. Onyx.. it sounded girly.. was this guy like Akio?

"I didn't care enough to pay attention." He smirked, eyebrows furrowing as Lee moved to take off whatever was under his leg warmers. Before Shinobu could go to respond a resonating boom echoed through the room as Lee dropped weights, causing everyone to stare in shock. Had he been fighting his way through the forest and the beginning of the match in those things?

"Holy shit.." Kankuro murmured with wide eyes.

"Like I said.. stronger than we look." Shinobu said, initially meaning to sound sarcastic but her own shock was clearly audible in her voice.

"I'll keep that in mind for the main events." Kankuro chuckled, forcing himself to look away from the match. The end was inevitable anyway. The fuzzy-brow'd kid would lose.

"But you're not going to remember my name?.. You have selective memory or something?" Shinobu asked, finally taking in the boys appearance. This would be a good chance to learn about him for the main event.. she may as well use it to her advantage. _He's a puppeteer.. he knows a thing or two about strategy.. he's sarcastic.. and he wears purple facepaint.. that's really helpful Shinobu. _

"I can just call you Onyx, it's not like knowing your name will help me any in a match, right?" Kankuro smirked.

"Well, that's not necessarily true. A name can tell you a lot about someone's linage. Take, for example, Hinata Hyuuga. It tells you she's a master in the gentle fist style, she uses byakugan and she's a main house member who is probably better trained. In a fight with her your best option is mid to long distance fighting." Shinobu retorted.

"How did you figure that one out?" Kankuro asked, honestly stunned.

"The last name implies she's from the famous Hyuuga clan of Konoha. It's a well known fact the Hyuuga specialize in the gentle fist style as well as using byakugan. As for her being a member of the main house all of- aagh!" Shinobu grimaced, a sharp pain in her chest cutting her off. _Crap.. does that count as sharing a secret? It's not that hard to figure out._

"What? What's wrong? Onyx?" Kankuro asked in concern, or at least Shinobu thought is was concern. She couldn't really tell because her eyes kept blurring over from the pain.

"Uh.. leaf jonin lady? Your her sensei right? Ya.. uh.. I think she needs help." Kankuro said, trying to ignore the fact that Shinobu had taken to using his arm for support.

"What? Sh-.. Shinobu. Thank you.." Kurenai nodded before taking her and disappearing to the emergency room.

"How did you know she was a girl?" Shino asked, not looking away from the match.

"I don't know.. I've just never seen a guy act like that.. I assumed I guess." Kankuro muttered, still looking at the spot she disappeared from.

* * *

><p>"You put your clan seal on my student?" Kurenai practically screeched when she had found Hiashi leaving Neji's room.<p>

"Yes. It was a part of our arrangement to have her stay in the compound as well as train with Hinata and learn our style.. to which she completely agreed."

"Then are you aware of the extensive damage and scarring it's caused? Agreement or not she should have given you no reason to use it!" Kurenai retorted, hoping her loud voice wouldn't wake any of her students, three of which were sleeping in the room nearest them.

"That's a rather big misjudgement on your and my part, the person held responsible has already been punished." Hiashi replied calmly. "Had she not told you of the seal?"

"No.. she didn't.. I just found out now because she collapsed from it.." Kurenai muttered, more to herself than anything.

"She collapsed from it? But the only way it can activate is from the Hyuuga council, Hanabi or Hinata. Unless she went to tell someone something she shouldn't have.. but she wouldn't do that." Hiashi said, looking alarmed as he went to go wake her up.

"What? But Hinata was asleep.. she wouldn't have done it even if she was awake. It's nice to know you have faith in her though." Kurenai paused. "She was talking to a sand genin, he was the one who brought her to me when she collapsed.

"Of course I do.. she looked me right in the eyes and swore on everything she had. I have no reason to think she's a liar, she's given me none." Hiashi said, looking back at Shinobu as she winced, slowly sitting up. "Do you know what caused the mark to activate..?" He asked when she finally seemed more alert.

"I.. I was talking about the Hyuuga clan.. but nothing that isn't already well known or easy to figure out on your own." Shinobu mumbled, biting her lip.

"What was it that you said?" Kurenai prompted, kneeling down so she was at eye level with her student.

"That you could tell a lot from a person's name. For example Hinata's last name implies she's from the famous Hyuuga clan of Konoha. It's a well known fact the Hyuuga specialize in the gentle fist style as well as using byakugan. As for her being a member of the main house all of.. and then I got cut off." Shinobu recited.

"What were you going to say?" Hiashi asked, remaining calm.

"All of the main branch members in your immediate family has a name starting with the letter "H" no one else in the clan does. Simply by hearing their name you can tell their rank in the clan. Hiashi, Hinata, Hanabi, and then Hizashi." Shinobu stated. "But that's not a secret.. anyone could figure it out."

"You're right.. the Hokage and some of the Inuzuka clan have pointed that out before.. that alone shouldn't have activated the seal.. but then what did?" Hiashi questioned.

"I don't know..." She sighed.

"Alright.. thank you.. I'll try to review everything on the seal.. maybe I can figure out what's wrong with it." Hiashi said, standing up and leaving the room.

"Would you like to stay in here with Kiba and Hinata? Or go back out and watch the matches with Shino?" Kurenai asked, smiling gently.

"I'd like to go out and watch the matches. Sasuke hasn't fought yet." Shinobu explained, slowly standing up.

"Alright, I'm just going to check in with the doctors and see how Kiba is doing. I'll meet you out there when I'm done." Kurenai explained before walking off. Shinobu smiled at her teammates for a moment before making her way back to where she thought the matches were being held, she had been hoping to ask someone for directions but she hadn't seen anyone yet.

"Quick, bring him this way!" _More people? Maybe I can ask now._ Shinobu thought, moving towards the commotion. The people there weren't willing to stop and help her though, with good reason. Shinobu's eyes widened as she saw the stretcher pass by her followed by Gai who was sobbing.

"What happened to Lee...?" She wondered allowed, eyes never leaving the stretcher. His body looked completely destroyed.

"He fought with the sand kid.. they really are dangerous.." Shino stated. "I came here to see if you were alright, I got worried when you didn't come back right away." He explained.

"Is he going to be alright..?" Shinobu asked, looking over her shoulder before gasping as they reached the room where the matches were held. It was completely destroyed. The balconies stood intact but the ground was full of shattered and cracked cement. It looked like someone had decided to place explosives over the entire floor.

"I don't know.. It will definitely take some time to heal though." Shino muttered, looking up at the screen. "Look."

"Next Match! Uchiha Sasuke verses Tsurugu Misumi!" _Good luck.. nii-san._

* * *

><p><strong>Sasuke POV<strong>

"Don't use your sharingan." Kakashi murmured loudly enough for Sasuke to hear as he walked by.

"So you know." Sasuke said, smirking once his initial shock was out of the way.

"If that curse seal on your neck becomes active.. you might lose your life." Kakashi explained grimly.

"Probably.." Sasuke muttered.

"If that happens, I'll jump in and stop the match.. got that?" Kakashi warned. _Stop it?_ _Damn it.. It seems this curse seal thing reacts to my chakra. If I try to release my chakra, it steals my mind and begins pulling out all of my body's chakra. So in this match.. not only sharingan.. but I can't even use my regular jutsu. Now.. what do I do?_

"Well this wasn't supposed to happen.. Yoroi was supposed to fight him.." Tsurugu thought, frowning slightly. "Oh well, I'll have to do.. once he gets caught in my jutsu.. he'll need to use chakra to get out anyway."

"Now.. Please begin." Hayate nodded to the two before backing away.

"Are you ready?" Tsurugu grinned.

"Yeah." In a flash both Sasuke and Tsurugu had weapons out, Tsurugu throwing three consecutive shuriken while Sasuke blocked with his Kunai. Wincing from the pain of his curse seal he collapsed with a thud, looking up to see Tsurugu charging towards him. _Crap. _He just barely dodged when Tsurugu made a grab for his head. Quickly jabbing his kunai into the ground, Sasuke smirked, locking his feet around Tsurugu's knee he went to knock him down.

"That won't work Sasuke-kun." Tsurugu grinned, watching as horror flashed across Sasuke's face when his own leg melted under Sasuke's lock, bending away so he could still keep his balance.

"What?" Sasuke quickly pulled his feet back giving another kick, to his abdomen this time, and watched him go flying in the other direction. _I don't know what his jutsu his but something tells me I don't want this to be a close-contact fight.. but then what am I supposed to do?_

"Gr... Sasuke! Are you really Uchiha Sasuke? Is that the best you can do?" Naruto shouted from the balcony. _Dobe.. wait..I know.. Lee.. _

"You don't have time for sight-seeing!" Tsurugu growled, running towards him. "This is over!" _Not quite. _Sasuke thought to himself, placing his back hand onto the ground and kicking Tsurugu's chin up sending him flying into the air. Quickly following him he jumped so he was behind him floating through the air.

"Though from here on I'm going original." Sasuke smirked while many of the leaf genin and jonin watched in awe.

"That's fuzzy-brow's technique!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Ugh.." _The curse seal..! It's reacting again..! "Please.. Please stop!", "You Bastard! Stop acting all cool, idiot!" Having them worry about me.. I can't.. I can't let this thing.. CONTROL ME!_

"Here it comes!" Sasuke grinned as the curse retreated, much to the shock of several knowing jonin in the room. He quickly flipped kicking his opponent towards the ground before landing in a crab beneath him, kicking him back up and pushing off the ground to land above him as he fell, waiting for him to hit the concrete before digging his heel in another kick into Tsurugu's abdomen.

"Like I even have to check.." Hayate murmured. The entire room was silent as Hayata made his way over to Tsurugu to check if he was conscious or not. "I am stopping this match here.. and thus.. the winner, who is passing to the prelims is, Uchiha Sasuke!" Hayate announced.

"YES!" Naruto grinned, cheering.

"Good job.." Kakashi grinned slightly, appearing behind him. "That move before the lion rendan.. was Gai's taijutsu." he thought to himself.

"Pfft.."

"Sasuk! Heh heh, what a lame way to win! You're all beat up!" Naruto kept shouting.

"That damn total moron.." Sasuke smirked. _Lee.. thanks to you I was able to survive. If I hadn't seen that move earlier I would have been in trouble. _"Ouch.." Sasuke winced, clutching his leg. _But it's not a move I can rely on very often.. _

"Uchiha Sasuke.. let the medical team treat your injuries now." A man said as they took Tsurugu away on a stretcher.

"You guys aren't needed." Kakashi spoke, helping Sasuke up. "I'll take care of him." He nodded to them before leaning to whisper to Sasuke. "I''m going to take you to the back and seal up that curse."

"We will now start the next match!"

"Wait until after the prelims.. I want to see the other matches." Sasuke replied with a small glare.

"No!.. Don't get so mad. If we don't take care of it now, it will be too late. I won't listen to your selfishness anymore." Kakashi stated firmly, guiding him towards the exit.

"Zaku Abumi verses Yakushi Kabuto!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: For one, this is the last fighting chapter until the main even. I know there are two matches left but I feel they're rather un-important and I have no desire to write them.. my brain hurts.. you will find out who wins but I'm running out of different ways to see people get knocked unconscious or forfeit. Haha. So ya, next chapter will be Hokage's rambling and some Hyuuga stuff. MWAHAHAHA. Alrighty, so I don't know how many of you know this but today they decided to make some adjustments to the review database, because of that I couldn't see six of my reviews for the majority of today. That's why some of them weren't responded to until this chapter even though they were for the last chapter.**

* * *

><p><strong>ThorongilAnime:<strong> Thank you :D

* * *

><p><strong>blackroselover (chapter 10): <strong>He can be a bit of a goof, but I think it's his constant effort and stubborn-ness that makes him so loveable to readers too. I hope you like my take on Naruto. :P

* * *

><p><strong>girl-of-anime: <strong>Aww ^^; well sorry for being cruel. Let's just say she has some very special circumstances with her kekkai genkai (if I spelt that right). Sasuke is in the arena, but he's often quiet for the most part. He was there for Shinobu's fight. He had his flashback and everything lol. Thanks for the review :P

* * *

><p><strong>BigSisterOf8: <strong>Thanks :D I really appreciate that, and I will er.. did XD

* * *

><p><strong>Alpenwolf: <strong>Thanks, I know it was definitely different, I was a little nervous about that but I'm glad that you liked all the different views. I thought it would be something interesting to show Sasuke's take on the sister he never knew. He knows she existed, but nothing more so of course he would have is own thoughts about her. The funny part is all of the memories were taken directly from past chapters and reworded into other peoples points of views. Little reminders and insight on how they view her. I figured it would be interesting and add nice touch to the 's lazyness.. I wish I could be like that all the time XD Only on holidays though.. even then I'm updating this like crazy instead of sleeping XD

Ah, the joys of a Neji fate speech XD I don't believe Neji is right, not at all :P You'll leave university, Hinata will become stronger. I will find my true calling in life. Lol. Common sense is definitely an illusion XD Worst? Or possibly the best. lol.I hope you like my take on the fight, I'm a tad nervous I made Naruto too weak.. but If Hinata can hold her own for that long in a fight with Neji, I imagine she could do the same with Naruto, especially with his support. Thanks for the review :D


	34. Still Fighting It

**A/N: I really need to stop updating this story and move on to Mirror or Illusion.. they're being neglected again.. so lonely. XD. This will most likely be the last chapter for the next couple of days because I'm either goingg to work on Mirror or Illusion and/or start posting my new story which.. is either Naruto or Kingdom hearts. I have three un-posted stories so I don't know and two have them already have a complete first chapter. lol. Anyway, song is Still fighting it by Ben Folds. Enjoy the chappy :D**

* * *

><p><strong>Vote in your reviews for what story starts next. (I will start posting with in the next day or so since both have the first chapter completed already).<strong>

**Story One: AU Naruto story with Temari as the main character. Turns out boarding school isn't exactly as it seems.**

**Story Two: AU Kingdom Hearts story with Roxas as the main character. Roxas gets selected to go on a french exchange. NOT ENGLISH.**

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

"Phew.. At last we're at the end.." Hayate thought as he waited for his coughing to cease. "Well, with this, the preliminary rounds for the main test have been completed!" Hayate shouted over the excited chatter.

"Nara Shikamaru, Aburame Shino, Temari, Uchiha Shinobu, Hyuuga Neji, Kankuro, Uzumaki Naruto, Gaara, Uchiha Sasuke, Yakushi Kabuto, Kinuta Dosu. You have all won the rights to compete in the "third round test" in the chunin exams." Hayate spoke, pausing to cough. "One is missing, but, congratulations to you all."

"Sensei.. I have something I wanted to ask.." Sakura spoke quietly, looking away from the group of genin below.

"Is it about Sasuke? Who knows.. I'm sorry to say that even I don't know much about him right now. Well, don't worry too much." Kakashi responded, looking away awkwardly.

"..."

"Sakura, I have to leave for a moment. Be sure to listen to what the tournament instructions are."

"Huh? O-ok.." She sighed.

"Hmm.. Including Uchiha Sasuke who isn't here right now. There are seven from the leaf, three from the sand, and one from the sound. Eleven people made it to the final event." Sarutobi sighed, thinking to himself.

"Ah, well then, Hokage-sama, if you would please.." Hayate gestured.

"Yes. Well, now I'd like to start explaining the final test. As I told you before, in the main event, your matches will be seen by everybody. Each of you will fight to represent the strengths of your countries. I'd like you to show off all of your powers with no reserves, which is why the finals.. will be held a month from now." The Hokage explained, pausing to allow the shock to settle in as well as allow for any questions.

"We're not going to do it right here right now?" Naruto asked, pointing at the abused battle feild behind him.

"This break, you can say, will be for preparations." The Hokage replied.

"What does that mean?" Neji questioned.

"In other words, in addition to informing all the various countries lords and shinobi leaders, this is the time needed to arrange for the gathering of the event. This also preparation time for you examination students."

This geezer, he always makes things complicated when he talks." Kankuro muttered under his breath. "I don't understand what you're trying to say! What does that mean?" Kankuro spoke louder so the Hokage could hear him.

"Basically, it's the preparation to get to know your enemy.. and yourself." He said, mentally sighing as he explained. "It's the time period where you will calculate your chances of winning. By analyzing the data you've accumulated during the trial competition. The battles up to now had you fight as if you were in a real combat situation, with the assumption of fighting an unknown opponent."

"That's for sure.. I never would have guessed that he would use sand as a weapon." Shikamaru thought.

"However the final trial will nont be like this. There are those who have showed all they can do already to their rivals. There are those who competed and were badly injured against a strong opponent. To make everything fair, the one month should be used by all of you to advance and improve yourselves. Of course, it would be fine to rest your body as well."

"I've got to improve.. I can't just rest for a month, seriously!" Naruto thought, images of Sasuke and the other potental opponents popping up into his head.

"Well I'd like to dismiss you now but.. there's one more thing that has to be done for the finals before I can do that." The hokage smiled.

"What the hell is it? I've got to train, now!" Naruto shouted in frustration.

"Well now, don't get so excited. There are pieces of paper inside of the box that Anko's holding so each of you take one piece." He explained.

"I'll come around, so wait your turn." Anko said, walking along the line and waiting for each person to take a slip. "Only one now!"

"Alright, you've all taken a piece. Now I'd like you to tell us the number on that paper in order starting from the left."

"I'm ten." Dosu said.

"Seven." Naruto grumbled with a confused frown.

"Nine." Temari scoffed.

"Four." Kankuro said, looking almost as confused as Naruto.

"Two." Gaara muttered.

"Five." Shinobu answered, looking from her paper to the people around her.

"Eleven." Shikamaru sighed.

"Eight." Neji stated.

"Three." Shino responded.

"Six." Kabuto smiled.

"So that means he'll be one." Ibiki said, scribbling something down onto a large clipboard.

"Yes." The hokage replied before turning to face the ten examinee's. "Alright, now I will reveal to you the final tournament." He said, clapping his hands together.

"What? That's what we drew numbers for?" Shikamaru asked, looking astonished.

"Yes.." Ikibi said, his face devoid of emotion but the glimmer in his eyes told Shinobu that he found their reaction quite amusing.

"Now, Ibiki, show them the match arrangements."

* * *

><p>Sasuke 1 vs 1 Gaara - Shino 2 vs 2 Kankuro - Shinobu 3 vs 3 Kabuto - Naruto 4 vs 4 Neji - Dosu 5 vs 5 Shikamaru<p>

Winner 1 (1) vs (1) Winner 2 - Winner 3 (2) vs (2) Winner 4 - Temari (3) vs (3) Winner 5

Winner (1) F vs F Winner (2)

Winner F vs Winner (3)

* * *

><p>"That's far.." Dosu mumbled.<p>

"What? The finals are just a regular tournament?" Temari asked, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Oh man.. like.. I've got one extra match. It's not like I wanted to avenge Choji or anything." Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome.."

"Shit.. I'm in the same block as Gaara." Kankuro thought to himself, nervously glancing at his brother.

"Uchiha.. Sasuke.." Gaara thought, eyes narrowed.

"Perfect.." Neji smirked.

"Hyuuga Neji.. Immediately against him.. Bring it on!" Naruto thought, eyeing Neji.

"The other Uchiha..? This will be interesting." Kabuto thought with a small smirk.

"Kabuto.. isn't he the one who told me to find Naruto in the forest?" Shinobu thought, eying Kabuto suspiciously.

"Well then, you're free to start strategizing or resting as you like. With this I'll dismiss you all but are there any final questions?"

"I would like to ask a question." Shikamaru said, lazily raising his hand.

"Yes."

"Since it's a tournament, it would mean that there's only one winner, right? Which means that only one person can become a chunin, doesn't it?" Shikamaru asked.

"No, that's not quite it. There will be judges including myself, the kazekage, lords of various countries that will make mission requests and other ninja leaders who will be watching the final test. Through out the tournament these judges will be evaluating your abilities. Those judged to have the necessary qualities to become a chunin will be able to become a chunin even if they lose their first match." The hokage explained.

"That means that.. It's a possibility that everyone here will become chunin?" Temari asked.

"Yes, but also, the possibility that no one here will become chunin. To advance in that tournament means that you have more chances to appeal to the judges. Did you understand? Shikamaru-kun?" The Hokage explained, looking over to him.

"Geez.. what a hassle." He thought as he nodded.

"Well then, thanks for all of the effort you have exerted for these trials. You're all dismissed until a month from now." The Hokage smiled.

"The second round will either be against Kabuto or Shinobu.. Hmm.. I guess I better ask Kakashi-sensei." Naruto thought. "Sakura-chan! Where's Kakashi-sensei?" He shouted up, catching the emotional girl off guard.

"I think he's probably with Sasuke-kun!" She called back.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan!" He grinned before running off.

"Great.." Shinobu sighed watching his retreating figure. "So much for training with him."

"Why would you want to train with that idiot?" Kankuro asked, overhearing her. "Oh, and are you ok?"

"Ya.. I'm fine, and he's stronger than he looks. He's a lot of help to train with." Shinobu sighed, maybe she should go find Kurenai-sensei. She could train her and she could see how Hinata and Kiba were doing.

"You could always train with me." Kankuro smirked.

"Nice try, and give away all of my secrets before we even start the tournament? No thank you." Shinobu laughed. "I'll catch you around though." She said, sending him her own smirk before walking off in the direction of the emergency rooms, soon followed by Shino.

"Have you heard from Kurenai-sensei?" Shinobu asked, weaving her way through busy medical staff.

"Yes, both Hinata and Kiba are going to be ok, though it might take a while for Kiba to heal as he's taken some damage to his heart and lungs. He's stopped coughing up blood for the most part." Shino replied, holding open the door for her as they entered their team's medical room.

"Shino, Shinobu, are the matches over?" Kurenai asked, looking up in shock.

"Ya, the main event is in a month." Shino replied, stooping down to pet Akamaru who was laying at the end of Kiba's bed, his eyes trained on his master while his head lay on his paws.

"I want to rest for today and tomorrow.. but after that I'd like to start training. I know Hinata's coming to stay with me for a week so we can train more then, but is there anything that I can learn with in that month, something that can help me in these matches?" Shinobu asked, looking at Kurenai with a hopeful yet serious expression.

"Yes.. but I don't think it's something that I persay can teach you.." Kurenai paused thinking. "Kakashi will most likely be training Sasuke.. so I doubt he will take you on right now. I think your best bet would be asking someone in the Hyuuga clan, the problem with that though is that Hiashi may be training Neji." Kurenai sighed.

"Can you train me at all?" Shinobu asked, slightly confused.

"Yes, I can. Neither of you would be training particularily for genjutsu though. The most I can do is give suggestions and watch over your battles with either each other, or your teammates once they're well enough." She said, wishing she had more to offer the two.

"What is it that I can learn though.. is it something I can teach myself?" Shinobu questioned, obviously eager to learn something, anything to give her the upper hand in a fight.

"Well.. I'm not sure to be honest. You know how in the Hyuuga clan, they utilize byakugan when they fight. Well they are one of three clans to have a kekkei genkai to do with their eyes. One of the others, is the Uchiha clan. They use something called sharingan. I'm not sure if Sasuke has learned yet but Kakashi is the only person in Konoha who would be able to teach you. But not every Uchiha member gets sharingan.. so I'm not sure if you will or won't have it." Kurenai explained.

"Sharingan..? I know byakugan has an effect on the users eyes, they have a lavendar colour normally and when in use the veins around their eyes bulk up allowing the user to look through certain objects as well as see the inner coils system in a ninja's body. They also have a much wider vision.. almost 360 degrees. Is it the same for sharingan?" Shinobu asked, wondering why she hadn't heard of it before.

"Not quite, while it does have an effect on your vision it does different things for different users. For some users it's said to make everything extremely clear, for some it's as if viewing your opponent in slow motion, it's almost as if you can see what your opponent will do before they do it. It's also known for one other thing, which is why Kakashi is known as "Copy-cat Kakashi". Some people can copy the other jutsu they see when weilding it.. that makes me think Sasuke has awakened his because as you saw during his fight, he used Gai's taijutsu. I think he may have used sharingan while in a fight with Lee." Kurenai said, trying not to get Shinobu too excited encase she didn't have it.

"So.. I wouldn't have to learn techniques? I'd just have to watch them?" Shinobu asked in awe.

"Well yes.. and no. Some techniques are strenuous to the body and performing them without former training can cause a lot of problems in battle, other techniques need a lot of chakra and if you're not used to techniques of that caliber then you'll probably pass out.. or potentially die." Kurenai explained, her expression slightly grim.

"Oh.. but.. if I did train.. it would be easier to learn jutsus that I'm already prepared for.. right?"

"For the most part, some techniques, like ninjutsu without hand signs, are almost impossible to copy." Kurenai said, trying to remember everything Kakashi had mentioned to her when he had found out she was taking the other Uchiha child.

"Alright.. um.. I'm gonna go now ok? Thank you Kurenai-sensei!" Shinobu smiled slightly before darting out of the room.

"Oh Shi-... your welcome.." Kurenai sighed.

"Are you ok Kurenai-sensei..?" Shino asked.

"Yes.. just.. worried." She replied with a meek smile.

* * *

><p>"Kakashi-sensei!" Shinobu souted running after the retreating figure of the gravity defying haired jonin.<p>

"Hm? Shinobu? Is there something I can do for you?" Kakashi asked, closing his book and slipping it into his pouch.

"Train me." She stated firmly once she caught her breath, causing Kakashi to raise an eyebrow.

"What.. why isn't Kurenai training you?" He asked.

"She offered, but you have the sharingan and Sasuke's in the hospital.. I can learn now and he won't know you trained someone else while he recovered so he won't act mad." She asked, exasperated.

"Have ever used it accidently before..?" Kakashi asked, wary of the girl. Emotional wasn't his thing which is why he preferred training Sasuke out of the three on his team.

"Well.. I don't think so.. " She sighed.

"Ok then, what I want you to do is do your normal training.. and focus on what you see. You'll know if it activates. If it does, come back and find me.. ok?" Kakashi asked, disappearing before she had a chance to respond.

"Why can he do it and I can't..?" She growled. "I can't rest today.. I need to train.." With that Shinobu bit her lip and took off in the direction of the training feild. She would train and get this if it killed her. Or that's what she thought as she watched familiar places and people whip by her in a blur. She would beat Sasuke in this tournament.. she had a head start. He had to take to heal.. she could train the entire month.

When she reached the training feild she didn't slow, instead, she channeled chakra to her feet and ran right towards the tallest tree, scaling it in seconds before flipping back to the ground and doing it again.. and again.. and again. She repeated this fifty-three times before she felt her knee buckle on her landing causing her to fall over.

"Fine.. I'll do sit-ups then." She growled, more at herself than anything, she felt frustrated, angry, sad with herself. So instead of getting up she aimed to do five hundred sit-ups.

"Three hundred and seventy-six... three hundred and seventy-seven... three hundred and seventy-eight." Shinobu winced as her abdomen burned.

"You remind me of my student.." A voice called as a figure sat beside her.

"You're fuzzy-brows teacher.. right?" Shinobu asked, looking over as she kept counting in her head.

"Ya.. why are you training so hard right after the preliminaries.. I thought Kurenai would tell you to rest." Gai said with a small smile.

"That's what she thinks I'm doing but Kakashi-baka won't train me and I am going to be Sasuke in the main event.. to do that I need to train, with or without a teacher." Shinobu growled as she pulled her chest up to her knees. Normally, she wouldn't open up to Gai, but she was hoping if she was honest with him he might help her train. He and Lee did always seem to be going on about hard work, so if she showed she was willing to do that she might get help.

"Kakashi won't train you..? Why not?" Gai asked in slight confusion, his normal chipper self gone as was his student.

"Because.. I'm.. not.. good enough.." She panted in between sit-ups. "But I can do it.. I have a head start.. I'll train harder than Sasuke.. and I'll show him I can win."

"I can train you." Gai smiled, even the twinkle in his teeth seemed dimmed.

"Really?" Shinobu asked, sitting up with a start.

"I'll start you doing what I had Lee do, you specialize in taijutsu right? Well maybe we can get you moving faster before the matches." Gai grinned, his mood brightening as he saw how excited she was.

"Thank you! What do we do first?" Shinobu asked, practically shaking in anticipation.

"You, need rest. I want you starting this when you're well rested. Come here first thing tomorrow. Then we can start training." Gai said, giving her a thumbs up.

"Alright.." She sighed, she was disappointed but she knew he was probably right.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I literally spent an hour making an in document version of the chart with the right names but it wouldn't show up properly so I posted it on imageshack**

** http(collon)(slashx2)imageshack(dot)us(slash)photo(slash)my(hyphen)images(slash)80(slash)examy(dot)png(slash) **

***saves chart for later use*. Another reason updates will slow down a bit is because I am currently in the middle of making a keyblade (Riku's Soul Eater from Kingdom Hearts) and after thursday I get paid so I'll have enough money to buy the last parts and finish it which is great because it's a christmas present XD**

* * *

><p><strong>BigSisterOf8: <strong>Ya, I tend to do pretty good with my updates when I'm on holidays. You should see me during the summer ^^; They never end O.O. lol. Thank you :D And I will/did.

* * *

><p><strong>DutchyPuppy: <strong>Haha, you did now, no need to be sorry :D I'm glad you liked it so much OMFG MUFFIN *random, cupcakes remind me of muffins XD* I will :D

* * *

><p><strong>rabbit153: <strong>Thank you, I figured it would be too cliche to stick her on team Kakashi. Different can be a good thing XD It's nice to know that not everyone forgot about that arrangement. Haha. Thanks for the review :D

* * *

><p><strong>girl-of-anime:<strong> Haha, thank you :D And no, I don't think that's even possible. But there is a special circumstance. That would be cool if they could see what the other saw XD but i don't see how that could work realistically either *brain running over different ideas now* Thanks for the review, and the ideas XD

* * *

><p><strong>Alpenwolf: <strong>I'm glad you like the song! :D And the ending, I wasn't sure if I made Naruto too weak for that one or if Hinata fainting was unrealistic but it just seemed like the perfect ending :P Haha, no problem? The seal is indeed malfunctioning. Neji cannot activate the seal. lol. *shifty eyes* No seriously, he can't XD Yeah, the adjustments freaked me out because I kept seeing my review count go up but I couldn't see them to respond ^^; Well, at least it's fixed now XD

* * *

><p><strong>ThorongilAnime: <strong>Haha, thanks? I think. lol. I'm a little interested in what your idea is on how her mark activated because I don't think mine is too nasty.. o.o Not sure now XD Thanks for the review.


	35. Unstoppable

**Alright, so it's been a while and I have not fixed the problem or gotten my new laptop. I have managed to post several new stories through the fanfic docs but I managed to get my drafts printed (using school credits.. fml running out) so that I can work on this a little bit. I didn't have enough credits for anything besides Seeking Solace so other than the new stories this is the only old one being updated. Sorry guys. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

><p><strong>E.S. Posthumus - Unstoppable and it's freaking epic. It seemed to fit Gai training XD <strong>**  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

"Holy.. crap.." Shinobu panted, desperately trying to keep up with Gai while ignoring the looks people kept giving them. "How does Lee manage to do this?"

"Oh this is only our first warm up don't worry. Once you get better we'll do even more laps!" Gai-sensei grinned, his teeth twinkling as he ran.

Shinobu had shown up that morning, as planned bright and early to find Gai doing several push ups. Before she could get a chance to join him, he pounced. He was acting like a five year old on lots of sugar on christmas morning and to be honest it was sort of scaring her.

He had handed her a giant package and ushering her to unwrap it, giving him an unsure look she did. She wanted to be able to put it down, it was heavier then it looked. Inside, much to her horror, was an outfit resembling Lee's. The only difference was that the one in her hands was neon pink, accompanied by horrifically blinding rainbow leg warmers.

"Do you like it? I was going to give you the same colour as Lee and I but I was talking to Neji and he pointed out that you might prefer something in a colour more suited to your gender." He grinned. "So I had this one specially made."

"I er... thank you? But.. what do you mean my gender..?" Shinobu grinned half-heartedly, trying to stick the horrid material into her back pack before he got any funny ideas, like actually making her wear the thing.

"You're a girl, all of the jonin know that. You need to go put it on! It will be perfect for our training." Gai grinned, giving her a thumbs up. Shinobu sighed contemplating her options and quickly realizing she didn't have many. It was wear this and get trained so she could beat Sasuke.. or don't wear it and self-train. Now I have two goals.. beat Sasuke.. kill Neji.. She sighed once again before waving at Gai with a small smile and running off to change.

"At least with their outfit you can blend in.. this is as bad as Naruto's clothes when it comes to camouflage.. " Shinobu scowled once she was dressed turning several times in the mirror. The damn thing had a tutu like poof around the waste and it was obviously fitted for a girl. Which required her to either look ridiculously stupid.. or train as a girl and look only slightly stupid. "If I can't beat Sasuke after this I'll kill him.." She growled, ignoring her lack of logic as she stomped out of the public bathroom, backpack in tow.

"You look so full of youth!" Gai exclaimed upon seeing her, completely ignorant to the scowl that made her look so much like Sasuke. She had chosen to stay a boy at first until she realized how tight the crotch region was. Had a fangirl seen her like that she'd be screwed. If anyone asked she could simply say Gai made a mistake and had this thing fitted for the wrong size so she was using genjutsu so she could still wear it and not hurt his feelings.

"Now for the last piece." He said, picking up the discarded box and pulling out two thin rectangular sets of plates that clanked together as they moved.

"Urm... what are those?" Shinobu asked warily, as much as she appreciated Gai's help some of the things he thought were "help" were actually things she'd rather avoid.

"Weights!" He grinned, causing Shinobu to deadpan.

"You mean like the ones Lee dropped during his match..?" She asked, eyeing them.

"Yes, but they're not quite as heavy, you'll get there yet, though!" He winked, his smile faltering for a moment. "How are you for arm strength? Lee does one thumbed push ups so I've never thought about it."

"I've never tried a one thumbed push up.. but I do one hundred one armed push ups for each arm a day now.." Shinobu smiled sheepishly.

"That's good for now, we can improve that after we get your weights up. We'll triple the weight by the chunin exams!" Gai exclaimed. Shinobu inwardly groaned before letting a small smile take over. If this would make her stronger, she would do it, she would do anything.

Grinning more to herself than the man in green, she grabbed the weights and hooked them onto her calves underneath the leg warmers.

"Alright.. now what?" Shinobu asked looking up at him with determination.

"50 laps around Konoha before lunch time." Gai grinned.

"I.. uhm.. are you coming with me?" Shinobu asked wincing. Her friends would never let her live this one down.

"Of course my youthful student!" He shouted with a wink before taking off in a sprint leaving Shinobu in the dust. She blinked twice before quickly following, surprised at how much harder it was to run with the weights on.

* * *

><p>"You can go faster than that!" Gai exclaimed, running backwards so he go face Shinobu. Had she not been so out of breath and exhausted she would have hung her head in embarrassment. It wasn't the running itself or how out of shape she may have appeared. Everyone in Konoha knew that anyone training with Gai excluding Lee was probably not out of shape.<p>

No, it was the fact that at their 17th lap Ino had for some reason unbeknownst to her decided to go to work and had burst into tears from laughing so hard as they had run past the flower shop. Followed by shocking Shikamaru out of his lazy stupor on their 23rd lap and making Choji actually drop a chip.

If that wasn't bad enough on the 35th lap Sasuke had given her the strangest look when they went past the hospital and Naruto had fallen from his tree mid-training. Neji and Hinata looked both amused and horrified as they ran past the Hyuuga compound and Hiashi just looked bewildered beyond understanding.

Shino's face palm on their 42nd lap made her mentally cringe and Konohamaru had found it so amusing that he had wanted to take a picture. Of course she refused to stop running for long enough for him to get a camera.

Becoming stronger was giving her mental anguish and eternal embarrassment. Not to mention Gai waved at everyone they passed and kept shouting at the top of his lungs and attracting even more attention than their clothing was earning them.

"Good job, Shinobu!" Gai grinned as she collapsed to the ground panting. It wasn't even 11am yet and she was aching beyond literary description.

"T-thanks." She grinned slightly. "What's next?" She asked, struggling to her feet. She knew Gai had a full day planned and she wasn't going to let him cut her off short.

"Such youth!" He beamed. "Well first since that seemed a little too easy for you we're going to add a few weights." He explained, tossing her a few more clip on weights. "Then we're going to use that monkey bar set Kurenai-san gave you and have you go across it one hundred times with only one arm, once for each arm. After that you'll cross it one hundred times using a different limb for each bar with no two limbs used twice in a row or within two bars of each other."

Shinobu quickly attached the weights before letting her expression go from exhausted to horrified. This training was almost as insane as Anko's obstacle courses and this was only day one, not even half way through the day!

Sighing she took a big breath and told herself to suck it up before summoning her next torture. This was going to be a very LONG month.

* * *

><p><strong>Kurenai POV<strong>

"Why are you not willing to train my student?" Kurenai asked in a low growl, Asuma digging his heel sheepishly into the ground behind her. Since Shikamaru was the only one to pass onto the actual viewed matches he had a little bit of free time. Shikamaru demanded at least a week of naps and cloud gazing claiming it necessary to recuperate.

"I am?" Kakashi asked more than answered as he looked up curiously from his book.

"Don't play coy with me!" She spat out. "You told her to activate it on her own then come to you when you did. I know as well as you do that she won't be able to activate it at all without some form of outside influence or help."

"We don't even know if the girl has it, we could very well be wasting her and my time which in turn wastes Sasuke's. I simply gave her the advice to train her efforts towards another goal while keeping the Sharingan in mind so she could continue to become stronger without wasted efforts." Kakashi stated simply, keeping his eyes(eye) in their usual bored expression.

"Yes, Sasuke. What about Naruto, hm? Have you thought of him during any of this. He needs training as well and as I hope you're aware, he passed on to the next matches as well. You're not only neglecting my student for Sasuke but your own team as well. Sakura and Naruto could both be much stronger by now if you'd just let some of spotlight drift. You should tread careful or you'll find your team falling apart." Kurenai warned in a huff before turning on her heel and stomping off.

Asume looked at the startled man before quickly following, not wanting to stoke the fire that Kurenai already had at the forefront of her mind.

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

"Good job! Now all you have is your homework for the evening and we can start over tomorrow!" Gai grinned a good eight hours later.

"Homework?" Shinobu looked up warily; after hours upon hours of running, flipping and sparring she wasn't sure she could make it home, never mind complete whatever insane homework Gai planned.

"Yes! Your youth is inspiring so I have decided you can do your regular warm ups, stretches and training along with 500 sit ups to work on your core muscles!" Gai grinned, giving her a thumbs up.

"Yes sir.." She sighed with a weak salute before she started inching herself away from the training field before he could assign anything else. Hitami was lucky she hadn't decided to bring her today.

Pausing as she got to the Hyuuga compound she looked around, it was already getting dark out and it would take her at least fifteen more minutes to get home. Hiashi had said she was welcome here whenever.. right? Maybe she could just stop here and finish her training before sleeping. It involved less time of muscle aching torture and possibly more time to sleep in the morning.

"It couldn't hurt." She sighed before entering the compound. _It isn't too late so people should be awake for another two hours.. I should be able to finish by then._ Shinobu thought to herself, making her way to the main courtyard before stopping in slight shock.

Hiashi and Neji were training, and hard by the looks of it. Neji looked like he too had been at it for hours. Maybe she could sneak out to one of the training rooms without them noticing her? She nodded to herself before trying to creep around the courtyard without getting noticed.

"Shinobu?" Hiashi asked, blocking Neji quickly before they both turned to look at her.

"Uh.. hi.. Hiashi-sama.." She turned slowly, laughing sheepishly.

"What are you doing here so late..? And what are you wearing?" He asked, looking her up and down while Neji covered a snort of laughter.

"I uh.. was just training with Gai sensei and the compound is a little closer than home so I figured I could.. uh.. finish up training here and crash..heh.." She tried to explain. Deer caught in the headlights.

"and.. what are you wearing?" He repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Well you see Gai sensei thought I should get a special.. training uniform.. and Neji here thought I might like something more suited to my gender.. so Gai sensei made this one especially for me." She smiled, though it was obviously twitching.

"Oh really?" Hiashi replied in amusement. "Well this seems to be perfect for me. You can train with Neji for the rest of the evening, he can either follow your usual routine or you could spar." Hiashi smiled before walking away.

"Wait.. you.. train with me?" Shinobu asked, dumbfounded.

"Sure.. why not.." Neji sighed before looking at her expectantly to see what she had decided they would do.

"Uh.. you sure you want to do that?" Shinobu looked at him, while she was more than sure he could keep up with the majority of her training she highly doubted he'd be able to stretch with her.

"Anything you can do I can do.. if not better." Neji smirked, challengingly.

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you." She smirked back, a new determination flashing in her eyes as she once again summoned the monkey bars. Watching as they filled a quarter of the large space.

"What do we start with?" Neji asked, eyeing the monkey bar curiously.

"500 hanging sit ups." Her smile was purposely innocent. She had figured that she could cut out her usual portion of sit ups and let the homework take their spot. Neji was in for one hell of a training session.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: (PLEASE READ) from now on I will NOT be responding to full reviews at the end of my chapters unless they contain questions and I will only be answering the questions. I read them all and appreciate them but they're getting seriously long and it's harder than I thought to go and delete them after. Thank you and sorry. <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>OrionRedde:<strong> Haha, thanks :D I'm glad you liked them XD I plan to!

* * *

><p><strong>Yourhoshi:<strong> I believe that while Shinobu is stronger, the fact that this was a person special to both Naruto and Sasuke made her falter and hold back her true strength, bringing them to the same level. But ya, Sakura isn't as strong as Shinobu and everyone will get to see Shinobu improve a lot more in the future :) Thanks for the review.

* * *

><p><strong>ShadowNinja1011(Chapter 3 &amp; 4):<strong> Thank you :D I'm glad you like it so far.

* * *

><p><strong>Icedragonshiki (chapter 14):<strong> Haha, I'm glad you like it so much! I'm not actually Japanese but I'm learning so I can speak little bits here and there. I'm more focused on my french though. I'll try sometime but it's hard for purely english readers to understand and I know from personal reading how annoying it can be to go down to the thingy at the bottom every time there's a language switch. Shinobu insists on keeping her secret because 1. she doesn't want to be underestimated 2. she wants to prove that she can be as good as any other guy comply because they don't think it's a big deal, it's not like they'll specifically lie for her if asked, but they won't purposely go around telling people either. Thanks for the review :D

* * *

><p><strong>girl-of-anime:<strong> Nope, she did not XD There isn't much info on kekkei genkai in the library because they're secret.. touche... it could happen.. ow my brain xD Thanks for the review :D

* * *

><p><strong>ThorongilAnime:<strong> Yes, yes he does XD You seem excited about that fact? :P

* * *

><p><strong>Alpenwolf:<strong> It's sad really, Kakashi never really trains anyone besides Sasuke, I think it's because he sees some of himself in him. But seriously, in the entire canon ebisu and Jiraiya do Naruto's training and Sakura doesn't get strong until she starts training under Tsunade. Then Sasuke leaves and Kakashi is all lonely :( 's one of the reasons I really like Gai. He'll train anyone! As long as they have a good spirit and will work hard he'll help them succeed. He cares about all his students, it's awesome. Even if he is a bit weird and all XD. Thanks about the chart, haha, it's photo shopped directly from the manga. Aah, it's ok, not everyone cares for school stories. At one point I hated them ^^; Thanks for the review :D

* * *

><p><strong>Neko Morie:<strong> Well I'm glad you liked it so much :) and happy to deliver and unexpected yet good chunin exam so far. Haha. Thanks for the candy XD and the review :)

**XxInuzukaxX:** Braindeadness.. classrooms do that but I'm shocked.. it's christmas holidays? So confused. It's alright :) I'm glad you liked my fights and the flashbacks even if they were a little different then how I normally right. I was a little nervous about Kankuro to be honest but I'm glad you liked how I portrayed him. You listened to the song? I'm in love with it right now, is one of my OTP couples I absolutely adore them which is sort of annoying when I have to write a fic where it doesn't make sense for them to be together. I feel sort of bad about Kakashi but part of me feels mean for making Gai train her as well ^^; haha. Thanks for the review.

* * *

><p><strong>Remy987:<strong> Yup, I finally mentioned it. Haha, I used to update like this before but as school goes on my brain hurts. Unfortunately this is going to get worse because I'm taking two sciences in the next semester one of which is above my grade. Glad you like the story though :) Thanks for the review :)

* * *

><p><strong>BigSisterOf8:<strong> Thanks, haha. Yes the Kingdom hearts story is going to be in french. I would like to post it twice (once in each language) but I haven't recieved an email back from the support team on fanfiction as to whether or not it's allowed. Part of me hopes some of my english readers might end of reading through google translate but who knows ^^; But I will be posting other kingdom hearts stories in english in a little bit for the review :D

* * *

><p><strong>chibichibi98:<strong> It is sort of Ironic if you think about it XD I totally agree.. Kakashi has horrible excuses. But in truth I think he just wants to focus on Sasuke because he sees Sasuke as the one with the most potential as well as being the one with the sharingan. Again I agree that she should branch out but at this time, she hasn't been given much of a reason to. In the future I think she will though. Thanks so much for your review :D

* * *

><p><strong>ThePhoenixOfTears:<strong> YAAY! I was actually worried for a while that you may have dropped my story which would have sucked considering you're one of my best reviewers xD I'm doing ok for songs, I know tons it's just hard to find songs that match the mood of the chapter XD Growing up.. sucks. Lol. I know what you mean with Naruto, but that's the great part about anime, I can just rewind and he's a kid again :DTired and cold, not a good combo, it was weird for me having a green christmas when I live in canada but the snow hit today.. I went outside and my fingers froze to a point I couldn't feel them. I was out there for less than five minutes O.o I love the Shika-Ino-Tema triangle, it's awesome but I can never pick a favourite XD I just love them fights are amusing because for the most part the girls just claw, pull hair and slap. No real punches XD Of course that's not ALWAYS true. Ya, I'm leaning away from Sasori now. From the recent chapters I have a new idea though, depending on how people take their interactions so far :P Neji cracking a joke would make my day :D Yes, you won xD Not sure where I'm fitting you in yet but my guess is it will be after the chunin exams and rescue Sasuke arc. lol. Or maybe inbetween? I'll figure it out. Kabuto's really smart, something tells me (the author.. of course something tells me XD) that he figured out she was an uchiha before being told. maybe. lol. Yes, yes she does XD And Ino wasn't worried about saving Sasuke, it was all about Sakura but she was having a major mental battle between fear and her friendship. Nope, you sadly read that right. Shinobu faltered because Sakura showed strength that she doesn't believe she had yet. O.o why must you notice all my little plotty thingies? Haha. I think it was a little bit of both. She is friends with Shika and Choji lol, she was just more in the moment that she wasn't thinking right and Sasuke and Naruto were her top priorities. She did leave for her team but part of it was because she knew the situation had been handled. wait a three? It should be a "3" as in a heart XD Oops O.o I hurt your reviewing skills, forgive me. lol. It's ok I liked it. Aah, I knew it was rushed and part of that was because it was canon, there wasn't much to change so some of the lines were taken literally from the manga and since manga is mainly pictures that made it seem shorter.. and I lack describing skills XD You don't have to play the games to read it :P I originally found Kingdom hearts through fanfictions THEN i played the games XD haha. Thanks for the review and song XD (Seriously, I'm in love with this song now) P.S it's ok XD I understand life gets busy :D


	36. Right Before Your Eyes

**If you're here and you haven't read "unstoppable" (the replacement for the author's note chapter) please go back and read it. If you already have then please enjoy :)**

* * *

><p><strong>The song is Right Before Your Eyes by Hoobastank. Kinda self explanatory for title and lyrics.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Neji POV<strong>

"Ugh.." Neji groaned slowly making his way to the dining hall to get some breakfast. His legs were killing him. He hadn't expected anything that Shinobu used for training would effect him because he normally trained with Hiashi or Gai who were both extremely tough in training.

But neither of them had ever focused on flexibility in their training and it was now obvious to him that the splits, as easy as they looked when Shinobu did them, were not something that came natural to him.

It had awed him to watch her train. While he couldn't keep up, though he'd never admit it, she had a grace and flexibility he had never seen before. _She can practically sit on her head for Kami's sake!_

* * *

><p><em>"There, see? Just slide down your front foot until your muscles are too strained to go farther. After that hold for a minute or too and I'll show you a stretch to loosen the muscles a bit more before you do it again. If you can't get very far I can help push you a bit." Shinobu explained sitting in a front split, acting completely oblivious to Neji's look of pure horror and wonder.<em>

_"There is no way I can do that.." He muttered under his breath._

_"Oh? But I thought you said you'd be able to keep up with my training." Shinobu responded with an innocent smirk. Curse her.. curse her to hell for this. He thought before warily inching his front foot forward. Before he could even get to a 90 degree angle Shinobu pushed his front foot out from under causing him to quickly slide into a full split, his facial features contorting in pain._

_"Good! Now hold." She grinned, as continually winced, resisting the urge to grab at his crotch. _

_"This is completely inhuman!" Neji growled as he managed to get out of the torturous position._

_"Really? I normally go farther than that." Shinobu stated simply._

_"How is that even possibly?"_

_"Like this!" She grinned pulling the front leg of her split onto one of the bar steps leading to the monkey bars. "With a prop for your front leg you go farther, it's called an over-split." She laughed as he grimaced._

* * *

><p>Neji shuddered at the image.<p>

"Not human.. not at all human." He muttered.

"What was that Neji?" Hiashi grinned with a knowing smile from the end of the table. Shinobu sitting a little to his right quickly eating her food. She was still dressing in that ridiculous outfit. _Is she going to train with him again today? Two days consecutively of full day training.. I'm not sure how she can even walk today.. let alone think about more training._

"Nothing.. Nothing at all." He murmured, sitting down gingerly, careful not to harm any of his aching muscles.

"So are we training again today after I'm done with Gai sensei?" Shinobu asked with a grin once she was done with the bacon on her plate.

"Depends.. are you wearing that again? It's hurting my eyes." Neji quickly retorted.

"Hopefully not.. but I'll take that as a yes. Hiashi-sama is my witness." Shinobu smirked before quickly bowing and excusing herself from the table before he could retort.

"Damn it.." Neji cursed under his breath earning a chuckle from Hiashi.

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

"What do you think you're wearing, girl." A voice growled from behind her. "Trying to shame us even more are you?" The voice continued in a sneer.

"Not at all Mika. I'm simply wearing something that helps me with training and is none of your concern. In fact, I hope to bring pride to the Hyuuga clan considering I'm now in the final area of the chunin exam along side Neji." Shinobu said with a sigh, hoping Mika would leave her alone.

"Yes.. under the name Uchiha. If you beat Neji that will do our pride nothing. You are from a different clan and I haven't the faintest idea why Hiashi is allowing you here or trusting you but believe me, _girl_, I am not so trusting. I'm on to you and your plans and you will not get away with it." Mika threatened.

"Yeah? And what exactly are my plans Mika? To help protect Hinata? To make the clan stronger? Because that is oh so bad for the Hyuuga clan, right?" Shinobu whirled on her. She had done nothing to deserve this and she was getting sick and tired of Mika. She was not a branch member and even if she was, she had not disrespected Mika in the slightest until she had been disrespected first, multiple times.

"Don't you play dumb with me girl, you're going to take over. You're changing our rules and traditions. Corrupting our leader. I won't allow any of it!" She shouted following Shinobu straight into Hinata's room as she went to grab anything she'd need for training. Hinata was visiting the hospital to keep Kiba company so she wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Then you're obviously delusional. My intentions have nothing to do with harming this clan or the people in it. What could I possibly gain from it?" Shinobu retorted angrily.

"Stop talking back to me girl, you WILL learn your place. Hiashi-sama may not see it but I do. You got me in trouble and you're going to ruin this clan. You'll be punished for it all, if it's the last thing I do." Mika screeched.

"So that's what this is really about then? You getting in trouble with Hiashi for something YOU did? Your choice that you KNEW was wrong?" Shinobu asked.

"Shut up! You insolent little girl!" Mika yelled, furiously making an all too familiar hand sign.

"Wh-" Shinobu got cut off, her ear shattering screams echoing off of the room walls.

"You will never talk to me like that again! Do you hear me?" She asked with a slightly hysterical laugh. Shinobu's eyes clenched shut as she desperately tried to nod finding her entire body immobile.

"I asked you a question, girl. DO YOU HEAR ME?" She repeated viciously pumping chakra into the seal. _I hear you damn it but I can't respond! _Shinobu thought desperately, looking up at the woman through her pain. She could barely hear her own voice, only the blood rushing past her ears and the chakra in her system desperately trying to keep her conscious and alive. Mika's eyes flickered shades of pink among the lavender as she glared down upon Shinobu, still laughing.

_Wait a moment.. pink.. I shouldn't be able to notice that.. but her eyes are so clear.. all of the details.. I can see them all. It's almost as if everything has been magnified then played in slow motion. Is this my Sharingan? _She could see Mika's lips moved as she yelled words she could no longer here. Her vision blurring in and out. The last thing she remembered seeing was Mika's eyes widening in shock as someone entered the room and pushed her out of the way.

Then everything went black.

* * *

><p><strong>Omake<strong>

"Neh neh, Shinobu-chan. Do you think we could try a prank involving ramen?" Naruto asked with his usual goofy grin and tilted head as he held a noodle in front of his face, causing him to go cross eyed just looking at it.

"Sure.. but what? I mean.. wouldn't that be wasting ramen?" She asked, biting her lip to avoid laughing at the face he was making.

"Well couldn't we use fake noodles or something?" He asked before making a funny "nom" sound as he chomped down on the poor noodle. (It really never had a chance).

"Sure.. but then how would we make the prank ramen related.. what could it do?"

"We could make a ramen bath!.. but then no one would actually get in it so it wouldn't work.. Maybe we could clog everyone's plumping with fake ramen so that when they turned on their taps ramen would come out?" Naruto grinned.

"I'm not sure about you but I don't know how to work with plumping. Besides, most taps have little filter type things on the end.. I'm not sure the noodles would fit through." Shinobu pointed out, nibbling on her own noodles.

"Good point.. alright.. I'm officially out of ideas. You got any?" He pouted slightly, pushing more ramen half heartedly into his mouth.

"Well.. we could always make giant fake ramen noodles... and I know! We could turn all of Konoha into a giant ramen bowl! It could advertise for old man Tseuchi's shop!" Shinobu grinned as Naruto immediately brightened at the idea.

"That's perfect Shinobu! You're a genius." He grinned before pulling out spare map he always kept handy for pranks and set up the ramen bowl.

"If we turn the Hokage's mansion and the academy into pieces of meat, the book store and weapons shop can both be veggies. Then a couple of the compounds can be naru's and we'll fill all the streets with noodles!" Naruto exclaimed showing her the now ramen-fied map.

"But how will we get enough noodles to fill all of the streets?" Shinobu asked, mimicking Naruto's earlier head tilt.

"Well if we paint all the streets with a broth coloured paint maybe we could shred noodle coloured paper or cloth and fill the streets with that."

Shinobu nodded and so they both set off to get different things. Naruto went and got as much paint as he and his clones could carry, the paint store offering a large discount if Naruto promised not to vandalize it. Shinobu ran to the fabric store and got several colours of material for making noodles, meats and vegetables.

* * *

><p>"NARUTO!" Iruka screamed from the top of the Hokage's mansion as he took in the site. From up their you could see clearly the ramen bowl along with big letters spelling 'Ichiraku Ramen'. "YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY WITH THIS!"<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Haha.. that last little bit made my day *wipes tear*. I noticed the chapter was a tad short so I threw that in for your lovely entertainment :)<strong>


	37. Behind Closed Doors

**The song is Behind Closed Doors by Rise against. An amazing song I suggest you listen to. Also, after one of you mentioned that you really liked my responses to you.. well I caved. I'll keep responding and deleting later ^^; Enjoy.. er.. well.. you'll see XD**

* * *

><p>"This is bad!"<p>

"Crap, look at the ECG!"

"Where's Hiashi-sama?"

Voices echoed around in frantic panic from the other side of the door and all he could do was wait. Wait and stare at his hands and hope she was ok. Why hadn't he offered to walk her or something?

Oh ya.. because that would ruin his image. Damn stupid image

* * *

><p><em>"I asked you a question, girl. DO YOU HEAR ME?" A voice echoed through the hall ways followed by horrid scream causing him to immediately cover his ears. <em>

_"What in the world.." He followed wide eyed trying to find the source of the screaming._

_"Well? You stupid little girl? Do you have nothing to say for yourself. Or can you even talk anymore? Well! Respond!" The voice laughed and he winced. He knew that laugh. That was Mika's laugh.. and it definitely didn't sound stable. How was someone supposed to respond if they couldn't talk. _

_Then the screaming stopped. He quickly started looking in rooms one at a time. Some branch member was getting tortured to death right now and he couldn't even find them._

_Finally he burst into the right room, watching in slight fear for himself as Mika looked at him with wide eyes, freezing on the spot. Then he saw her, it was no branch member. Shinobu's eyes fluttered shut and she lay still on the floor. The heat from her burning skin scorching the ridiculous outfit Gai had her wearing for training. Her hands gripped tightly around the leg of a chair and her teeth clenched shut._

_"She's still in pain.. what did you do.." He looked up at Mika glaring for the first time in his life back at the member of a main branch._

_"You can't talk back to me, boy.." She shakily growled, watching him warily._

_"In this case I can, we were told to treat her as if she was part of the main branch. It's my duty to protect her, then, is it not?" He growled, picking her up and running out of the room before Mika could respond._

_"Cousin Neji?" A horrified whisper caught his ear as he ran past._

_"Hinata-sama.. go alert your father!" He simply yelled and kept running. This girl was not going to die, not while he was there. She was still breathing and he would not let that change. This wasn't her destiny, not today._

_By the time he got to the hospital Shinobu's breaths came in short labored gasps and she had yet to open her eyes. Her fingers woven tightly into the material of Neji's shirt._

_"Neji? What's going on?" A girl at the front counter asked in shock, she had normally known Neji from when he had come with his comrades. Lee was well known for over training and needing medical attention for it. _

_"Get emergency medical staff, now!" He shouted, continuing on straight to where he knew some of the main doctors in the hospital would be dealing with patients._

_It wasn't long before one of them took her to a stretcher, forcing him to reluctantly let her go. She was quickly rushed behind closed doors where he couldn't follow, couldn't see her. All he knew was this was bad._

* * *

><p>"Neji? Where is she?" Hinata called, tears welled up in her eyes, shaking him from his thoughts. Had this been another situation he would have been proud at how loud and clear she spoke. But this was not the time, instead he looked up with tired eyes and pointed to the closed door.<p>

"They won't let me in." Neji sighed.

"Oh.." She spoke a little more quiet this time, slowly sinking into the chair beside him as the rest of her team showed up. Shino and Kurenai walking quickly while pushing an obviously complaining Kiba in a wheelchair.

"Has there been any news?" Kurenai asked, quickly silencing the irate boy. Neji simply shook his head.

"Hiashi-sama hasn't shown up yet and from what they've been yelling.. it's still activated." Neji growled slightly.

Without another word Hinata quickly pushed her way through the doors, ignoring the people trying to tell her not to enter. Walking up to the doctor she quickly explained the situation and he nodded before letting her take in the site of her teammate, looking with sad eyes as she released the seal and leaving the room again.

"What did she just do?" Kiba asked after a moment of silence.

"Hinata-sama is part of the main branch.. she can control the seal. She de-activated." Neji spoke after a minute, mentally cursing himself for not asking her to do so sooner. How many times has he screwed up in this one evening?

The room turned silent again, the only sound being the medical staff and a pair of running footsteps slowly getting louder as they came closer.

"Naruto?" Neji looked up.

"You know you can't go in-..." Kiba paused, Naruto was normally loud.. he had expected the boy to burst right in and interrupt the medical team. Instead the boy slowly caught his breath remaining silent before sitting on the other side of Neji and staring with all his might at the door as if willing the door to open, for Shinobu to walk out. His eyes looked oddly dead, the gleam had diminished and there was no flicker of amusement or a smile on his features.

"Naruto..?" Kurenai whispered, gently putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I should have known.. I should have paid attention.. we've just been so busy lately I haven't talked to her.. I.." He sighed letting his head fall into his hands.

"It's not your fault.. there is nobody to blame for this but Mika." A stronger voice said, Hiashi, walking from Shinobu's room. Nobody had noticed him enter. "She is currently being branded as a branch member and while she knows how to control seals activating anyone else's will in turn set off her own." Hiashi explained.

Neji looked up at his uncle with wide eyes. Nothing like that has ever happened before. A main house member with a branch seal? It was unheard of, not that he'd oppose. The woman deserved it. But.. what could this mean for the future of their clan?

"That's not what I'm out here to tell you, though. She's woken up.. but I'm warning you now.. this may very well be a different Shinobu then the girl you knew." Hiashi spoke with saddened eyes. "Only one can go at a time. We don't want to overwhelm her."

"Naruto.. should go first." Neji spoke quietly earning a reluctant but firm not from the members of team eight.

"Thank you.." He whispered before standing and moving towards the door to walk in.

* * *

><p><strong>Naruto POV<strong>

Shinobu looked tired, her eyes warily drifting around the room taking in her surroundings. Her entire chest along with the majority of arms and shoulders were covered in glowing bandages. They were specialized for burns, filled with chakra that constantly healed and soothed the wounds.

"Shinobu.. how are you feeling?" Naruto spoke, looking at her from the end of her bed. He wanted desperately to hug her but the idea of hurting her caused him to keep his distance.

"I.. um.. I'm fine.. but.. where's my nii-chan?" She spoke after a moment looking up at him with wide, vulnerable and innocent eyes.

"W-what do you mean?" He asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"I want my brother.." She whimpered and he slowly moved forward to try and calm her down. "Who are you..! why hasn't he come in to see me?" She cried out pushing him away.

"W-what.. it's me. Naruto, you know? From the academy? We pulled pranks together? We're family.. forever? You live with me and we take turns buying ramen." Naruto stumbled over his words.

"I don't know what you're talking about.." She whispered. "Where's Sasuke nii-chan.. where's my mama?"

* * *

><p><strong>I'm really getting bad with these cliff hangers aren't I? Sorry if this chapter is short, if anything it's because I knew I had to end at that line. If I went on I'd be dragging. lol. Hope you enjoyed :)<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Sango Higorashi (chapter 1):<strong> ya most of my chapters aren't beta'd and it's kinda hard for me to go back and fix certain mistakes. It takes time which I don't have. I'm glad you liked it and the descriptions and sorry I hurt your heart (well not really because that means I did a good job but you know what I mean :P

* * *

><p><strong>Alpenwolf(Chapter 35 &amp; 36):<strong> Ya, the outfit is kind of horrible XD But to be honest I don't think I'd mind wearing it O.o Neji's humiliation was something I don't think we get to see too often so I just had to put it in there but I do understand him. Change can be difficult :/ lmfao. Thank you ^^ and I've decided to keep the review responses. Don't be a Neji, you CAN change it :)

* * *

><p><strong>Girl-of-anime:<strong> Heheh :P Or maybe not Hiashi? ;D I am definitely working on my update speed after that break. haha. thanks for the review :)

* * *

><p><strong>chibichibi98:<strong> Posssiiibly. :P Thanks so much for the review :D

* * *

><p><strong>OrionRedde(Chapter 35 &amp; 36):<strong> Glad I can make someone happy :P I honestly think I could manage wearing it. It kinda sounds fun XD sorry for the cliffies. They just won't leave me alone O.o thanks for the reviews!

* * *

><p><strong>Hima:<strong> Thank you so much, while my computer isn't working I'm definitely doing my best to get back on track with updating :)

* * *

><p><strong>Remy987:<strong> Glad to hear this is one of your favourites! Thank you so much :P While it's not fixed I'm going to try to update again :P yay for paper copies.. urgh :P thank you.


	38. She's My Winona

**The song is "She's My Winona" by Fall out boy. A great band currently on hiatus. Patrick (lead singer) is solo right now and having a hard time so check out his album album. I'm using this as half irony and half what's on my mind, not completely related but songs are running out faster than chocolate near easter and halloween.**

* * *

><p>"W-what..<em> it's me. Naruto, you know? From the academy? We pulled pranks together? We're family.. forever? You live with me and we take turns buying ramen." Naruto stumbled over his words.<em>

_"I don't know what you're talking about.." She whispered. "Where's Sasuke nii-chan.. where's my mama?"_

* * *

><p>"How is she?" Kiba asked, attempting to stand up when Naruto stormed from the room.<p>

"Hiashi.. may I have a word, _please_." Naruto gritted out, trying to keep his tongue. He promised Shinobu he wouldn't ever be rude to the Hyuuga clan.. other than Neji.

"Yes?" Hiashi looked at him calmly though didn't move from where he was sitting.

"It's regarding Mika's.. punishment.. or lack there off and I assume you'd prefer to discuss it.. _in private._" Naruto spoke, jaw and fists clenched.

"Anything you have to say can be spoken in front of these people." Hiashi replied.

"A seal does NOTHING to make up for what she did!" He shouted, no longer to hold his tongue or rage. "She should be sent to prison! Let the council deal with it, ban her from the clan, execute her or something! If this is all you're doing then this shouldn't be a clan matter!" He roared. Neji looked on in silent horror. Expecting to see Naruto punished or something for talking like to their clan head but Hiashi simply looked on calmly.

"Naruto.." Hiashi started before being quickly cut off again.

"NO! Don't you dare Naruto me! She's my family! She doesn't even remember my name! Her mother died, what five years ago! But no, I show up and she's all "Where Sasuke nii-chan? Where's my mama". You're clan seal completely destroyed her!" He practically screeched, catching his breath and resorting to just glaring at the man while the others took in the information.

"What do you mean she doesn't remember.." Kiba spoke slowly looking at the floor.

"Go find out for yourself." Naruto growled, gesturing to the door.

Taking a hold of the wheels on his chair, Kiba rolled towards the door before Kurenai could stop him. Neji following shortly behind.

* * *

><p>"Do I know you two too?" Shinobu glanced at the two boys warily, ignoring the protests as she pulled multiple IV's and chords out of her arms.<p>

"Would you stop doing that? You need those to heal." Kiba spoke, grabbing her wrist.

"Unless I know who you are I don't care what you think dog breath." Shinobu growled.

"Wait.. didn't Naruto say she went to the mental frame of a seven year old? This doesn't seem like your average orphan seven year old." Neji whispered to Kiba.

"Ok, for one I can hear you, baka. Two, do I look like a seven year old to you? Of course not. Now if you'd excuse me I have to get to work."

"What are you talking about, Shinobu.. you don't work.. you're a ninja.. on team eight. We don't have any missions because of the chunin exams. You're fighting remember, you got through with Shino!" Kiba tried to explain.

"And what are you? A werewolf and a dancing leprechaun? I'm not stupid. My brother's a ninja, not me. I have no one to protect so why on earth would I want to fight? Not like dad's around to be disappointed in me for being weak, so there would be no point." Shinobu replied, sarcasm dripping in pools from her voice as she ran around to grab her things.

"Where are you planning on going? You live with Naruto, your brother doesn't even know who you are." Neji pointed out, keeping a close eye on the exit.

"Naruto? Is he that blond idiot who was in here earlier?" The two exchanged glances before slowly nodding.

"Look Shinobu will you just slow down for a moment.. maybe we can get this figured out." Kiba spoke slowly.

"I'll give you two minutes. If you waste any more of my time you'll regret it." She hmphed before sitting on the edge of the bed playing with her leather gloves. Without another word they both quickly left the room.

"Well?" Naruto looked up, still obviously angry but not shouting any more.

"Well that was no seven year old.. she acted as if she had grown up in the Uchiha compound but never became a ninja. She mentioned her dead father disapproving of her, her brother being a ninja and having a job." Neji replied.

"She's trying to leave! She gave us two minutes, can you please talk to her Kurenai sensei?" Kiba asked, if he ever showed resemblance to a puppy it was then. His eyes pleaded and begged in a way that his pride wouldn't let his words.

"Alright.." Kurenai sighed before walking into the room, a small pit in the base of her stomach. Inside, much to her shock, was a sobbing girl shaking silently in the middle of the bed. Blankets wrapped around her shoulders she seemed to be trying to shrink into invisibilty.

"Shinobu..?" Kurenai asked, carefully moving closer to the girl. She forced herself to keep moving forward when the girl looked up at her with pain stricken, teary eyes. Though it wasn't the pain that shocked her, in place of her normal gleaming onyx eyes were a pair of dark red Sharingan watching her every move. "Shinobu, are you alright?" She asked again.

"_Good, mama._" She replied with a small smile, a visibly shiver going up her spine. Kurenai's eyes widened. What was happening in this girl's mind? She had heard shouting from her not just a moment before when she was talking to the other boys but when facing her she was simply a small lost child. She watched as the girl looked up at her expectantly.

"Shinobu.. can you tell me where we are?" Kurenai asked, kneeling next to the bed.

"_Home?_" She asked more than replied, tilting her head slightly.

"That's good, Shinobu.. can you tell me where home is?" She asked, treading carefully. She didn't want to scare the girl or possibly trigger another mental change.

"_Alley, mama. My box._" She smiled. "_Mama.. can you read a story?_" Shinobu looked up at Kurenai hopefully. It broke her heart.

"I.. can't Shinobu.. I need to leave for a little while.. I'm sorry." Kurenai spoke quietly, something told her that Shinobu wasn't really talking to her but reliving a memory and if she made one mistake it would shake her from it. She needed her to stay here and not turn violent until she could get someone better with mental trauma to look at her.

"Oh...ok.." Shinobu whispered quietly. "_I love you, mama.."_ She said, giving Kurenai a sighed, standing and walking out of the room, her heart cracking at each small sob that echoed through the room behind her. No child deserved a past like that..

"Kurenai?" Hiashi asked watching her.

"We need to get Inoichi Yamanaka down here, now. I'm not sure which Shinobu each of you saw but I'm pretty sure I got her when she was somewhere around three to five. I'd prefer to keep her there and not somewhere violent." Kurenai explained nodding to Hinata who immediately disappeared around the corner.

"Why haven't you done anything more, Hiashi. Mika didn't get half of the punishment she deserves, Naruto is right." Kurenai asked.

"I agree.." He said plainly, earning looks of wonder and shock. "It wasn't my decision though, Hokage-sama told me I could take this measure to prevent it happening again but upon mentioning worse punishments he immediately denied the options. There's nothing I can do." He sighed.

"Kurenai sensei..? I'm not bringing the team down, right..?" A voice called from behind them, Shinobu walking out with her head down. "I.. I shouldn't be on this team.. they're all stronger than me.. I mean.. If I train with Hinata in the compound, what if I let her down..? What if I disgrace her.. them? Her father is harsh enough on her as it is." She spoke, her eyes glazed over, as if it was only them in the room.

"Shinobu, you are a very strong girl. You will never disgrace Hinata or our clan." Hiashi spoke watching as the glaze snapped from her eyes.

"Then why am I even with you in the first time! Why would another clan possibly want to take me in if my first one didn't even want me?" She yelled glaring him down. "Why..why is this happening to me? What's happening to me?" She sobbed slowly dropped to the floor.

"Shinobu.. Mika used the curse seal on you.. you've already represented us well. Because of the seal your memory is acting up. You keep changing mental states." Kurenai tried to explain.

"Seal.. what seal? How have I possibly represented you well.. I don't even know you people! LEAVE ME ALONE!" She screeched, knocking Kurenai's hand away before bolting down the hallway.

"What just happened?" Kiba asked looking after her wide eyed.

"No clue.." Neji muttered.

"I'm here" Inoichi panting running down the hall. "What's the emergency?"

"Well apparently it's running that way.." Kurenai sighed as she got to explaining what was going on.

* * *

><p>Shinobu smiled waving at the odd person as she ran towards the ramen shop. She couldn't wait to see Ayame and Tseuchi and get to work.<p>

"Grandpa! I'm he-.. Ayame? Grandpa?" The girl asked, looking around the closed down ramen shop, a small "closed for family outing" sign on the door. "Great.. now what am I supposed to do." She sighed, slowly walking away from the shop.

"I guess I could pick up a paper.. it's been a while since I've seen Kabuto-kun." Shinobu smiled to herself before running into someone just as she spead up.

Speak of the devil.

"Shinobu..?" The boy asked, giving her a hand up.

"Kabuto-kun? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the newspaper stand?" She asked.

"What are you talking about Shinobu.. I'm a ninja.. if anything I should training for the chunin exams, like you." He asked looking at her in confusion.

"Ugh, not this again. That's what that Naruto guy said at the hospital." Shinobu groaned.

"Wait a minute.. why were you talking to Naruto.. he probably told you a partial truth. You are a ninja but they just want to use you. I can't believe they lied." Kabuto growled, carefully watching her reactions.

"What..? Then who am I supposed to believe?" She asked, looking up at him in slight disbelief.

"Me, remember. Our dad adopted you. We're siblings, doing a recon mission in Konoha." He whispered the last part.

"What..?" She paused, trying desperately to remember something.

"C'mon.. we'll take you home and he and I can explain everything." Kabuto smiled holding out his hand.

"I.. alright.. Kabuto nii-san... thank you."

* * *

><p><strong>Cliff hangers.. officially my forte (- insert accent I'm too lazy to find). So I'll be honest ever since the memory loss this is ad-libbed and not planned. I had left a big gap in my drafts from gai's training to the chunin exams and somehow this turned up. Thanks for all of the reviews and support :) <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>DialACow:<strong> Sharingan activated :P Mika was definitely the best option :P Planned from the moment I gave her the seal. lol. Sorry about the cruelty, I winced along with her but I found it necessary to the plot. Hehe, thank you so much. and thanks for the review!

* * *

><p><strong>LilPrincess95(Chapter 7):<strong> Glad you liked the prank so much :P Thank you for the review :)

* * *

><p><strong>Chibichibi98:<strong> Yay for memory loss :P I'd tell you but that would be a bit of a spoiler now wouldn't it? You're not the only one thinking that, myself included but I have very good reasons :) Thanks so much for your review.

* * *

><p><strong>Alpenwolf:<strong> Yay for nice surprises? I knew it had to be one of the two but I figured a little bonding on Neji's part would be good. As for the amnesia.. ya that really sucks :( makes me sad. Somehow I always end up being mean to my OC's.. it just makes for such good plot XD Lazyness, seems we have a mutual problem my friend XD I feel very close to Shika out of all of the characters because of his attitude and point of view XD Plus clouds are just so pretty! Something tells me Neji would be silently annoyed :P Thanks for the review :DD

* * *

><p><strong>girl-of-anime:<strong> Haha, yay for random curve-balls, eh? It's a secret but thanks so much for the review :DD

* * *

><p><strong>OrionRedde:<strong> Brace yourselves indeed XD I'd suggest a bit more backwards and upside down but we'll have to see XD I'm glad you liked it and thank you for the review :)


	39. Whispers In The Dark

**O.o.. First not so good review. Uh oh? I'd just like to explain why Shinobu acted as she did last chapter because some people may not be too familiar with different brain stuff. This isn't actually brain damage. It's repressed memories due to the trauma. This is what is causing Shinobu's random switches. She doesn't have all of her memories to fully understand what's going on around her and all of the ones she keeps randomly getting back are very out of place. Hope no one thinks it's too stupid but if so I hope you'll bare with it for a bit longer? ^^ sorry...**

**On a much brighter note, thanks to all of you for helping me quadruple my original review goal (50). We're officially at 205 reviews. I never expected this to get so popular but thanks for sticking with it through it's ups and downs and procrastination :D I really appreciate it and I'll try my best -dattebayo!**

**Note: The song is Whispers in the Dark by Skillet. :P Great song and actually oddly fitting. p.s long AN sorry!**

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

Shinobu sighed taking a good look at the place around her. It felt warm, safe, but at the same time something felt off. It didn't feel as familiar as she had thought it would. She had met her father and Kabuto nii-san had been healing her but nothing seemed to indefinitely click yet.

Orochimaru.. her father.. adopted her after the clan massacre of her home set up by her own brothers. The village had planned on using her to get back at them, to use the personal connection she had to catch them off guard. That's why everyone had pretended to befriend her.. that;s why they pretended to care.

So she became a ninja along with Kabuto nii-san. She was to earn their trust, but instead she would help destroy the village for hurting her family, for using her. That much she could understand, but why then, did that yellow haired boy look so sad when she said she didn't know him?

Kabuto nii-san said she had pretended to befriend him as well, because he had pretended first. He was Konoha's secret weapon. He needed to be killed off first for interfering with their plans. After that it was a matter of rescuing her twin, they'd change him from their brainwash.

This was their revenge and part of her was excited. Excited to see the looks on their faces after all they had put her through, to see them beg for mercy from the same little girl they thought they were deceiving this entire time. The other part of her wanted to talk to the blond.. hear his side of the story. Maybe she'd be able to see if he was lying?

"Shinobu-chan!" A voice called out from the hallway.

"Yes, dad?" She replied, exiting her bedroom. Even that, her bedroom had looked unused, freshly put together. There were no photographs, no odd memorabilia, nothing to say it wasn't more than a guest room at all. Kabuto had already explained that they moved a lot to avoid any detection.. but wouldn't you bring something like a family photo with you? The only thing she had to prove any form of memory or existence was a strange tattoo residing between her collar bones; but something kept her from asking about that.

"People have started to question your recent absence.. we need to get you back into the main village." He explained with a small smile, licking his lips as his hand rested firmly on her shoulder.

"How am I supposed to explain to my.. _friends_..?" She asked, giving a quick nod.

"You'll need to apologize to a few number of people and explain that you woke in the forest, remembering everything. We've placed a small seal around your brain to stop them from seeing any of the healing Kabuto did. We don't want them suspecting anything. After that go speak with the Hokage. I'm sure he's missed you out of everyone." He gave a small snort of contempt.

"Am I still going to tell him that you've found me and tried to corrupt me?" Shinobu asked, trying to retain all of the important information.

"Yes, give away enough information to prove your loyalty, nothing more. The old geezer should fall for it quite nicely." Orochimaru grinned, leaning down to give her a hug before she quickly left the building.

* * *

><p>Walking through the streets of Konoha was rather.. creepy. Everyone who did look at her either gave her a curious glance or a glare. It wasn't until she passed a small flower shop that she got anything in the form of friendly interaction. The girl inside hung up her apron and ran out the door waving before joining her walking despite no verbal permission on Shinobu's end.<p>

"Shinobu, have you been training tons or something recently? I haven't seen you around and team eight and a couple of the other genin seem all out of sorts." Ino smiled, looking up at her in slight concern.

"Ya, I'm just nervous for the chunin exams. I don't want to lose..." She trailed off. "I'm sure everyone else is just out of sorts because of the chunin exams as well."

"Ya.. I guess so.." Ino spoke, looking at the ground.

"Anyway.. I've got to go. See you later, maybe?" Shinobu asked, waving before quickly running off. "What's with that girl? She's weird.." Shinobu muttered to herself after a couple blocks of running. She wasn't quite sure where to start or who to talk to first.

_Probably that Naruto boy._ She decided after a couple of minutes, pulling out a small map to find where 'their' house was. She'd check there first. If not he liked ramen right? That would be the next place she'd go.

* * *

><p><em>"Do you think this will work? Orochimaru-sama?"<em>

_"Yes.. you said you've replaced the proper memories and helped heal her before she healed naturally on her own. The only way for her to fix that would be to do it herself or if we did it thanks to the seal. An un-expected twist.. but this is perfect." Orochimaru hissed._

_"Ok.. but what about my fight with her in the chunin exams?"_

_"You must win, if not Sasuke is less inclined to come to us. He is in search of power. Shinobu has shown close to his level, if you crush her in that battle he will see your strength."_

* * *

><p>"Naruto!" Shinobu called out, running towards the oddly familiar blond mop of spikes.<p>

"S-shinobu?" He asked. His eyes were tired, bloodshot with dark lines under them. He looked like he was walking on an hour sleep, tops.

"I'm so sorry, I remember.. I didn't mean to say any of that I just... everything was so confusing for a moment.. I.." She trailed off, watching his reaction. It had slowly changed from wary and cautious to bright and joyful. It almost looked as if he was hyper and full of energy despite obvious lack of sleep.

"It's ok! So you're back? And training to beat Kabuto in the exams?" He grinned giving her a tight hug.

"Yup, but I have to go find my team first.. and the Hokage. Something tells me that I owe a lot of people apologies." She sighed half heartedly.

"It's ok, I'm sure they'll forgive you. All of team eight is at the training feild right now.. actually I think Neji's team is there too. Maybe you could kill six birds with one stone." Naruto grinned.

"Wait.. six?" Shinobu paused trying to think of all of the people.

"Yup, Kurenai-sensei, Hinata, Akamaru, Shino, Kiba and Neji." He grinned. "Maybe we can go have ramen later and spar?" He asked hopefully.

"For sure, see you later Naru!" She grinned, before running off. _That can't be lies.. can it?_

* * *

><p><strong>Neji POV<strong>

"C'mon Neji! Block my attacks!" Tenten shouted during a half-hearted sparring match with Neji. It earned a small glare on Neji's part as he was winning but he just couldn't seem to focus. He sighed after getting knocked to the ground, again.

"Neji.. maybe you should take a break?" Kurenai suggested, she had been hoping to get the teams out here to distract them and focus on training but it didn't seem to work for any of them.

"No.. I'm fine." Neji muttered, standing up and re-activating his byakugan before darting towards Tenten and hitting several chakra points. It wasn't long before she was down. "Perfectly.. fine.."

Tenten watched in concern but said nothing, she knew there was something going on but every time she tried to talk to Neji about it he'd give her the cold shoulder or snap at her.

"Uhm.. hey guys.. am I interrupting?" A voice spoke hesitantly from behind them causing several of them to whirl around in shock.

"Shinobu?" Kurenai asked. "Are you ok..? Where have you been?" It was obvious she was trying to be careful, nobody knew where Shinobu was mentally right now and they didn't want her to run away again.

"I.. I was in the forest. I just started remembering things.. I'm really sorry."

"So.. you remember everything again?" Kiba asked, a grin building on his features when she gave a nod.

"Yes!" Kiba fist pumped before laughing, Hinata joining in lightly as Shinobu moved over, starting a big group hug.

"Glad to have you back." Shino smiled, or at least it looked like it from the way his glasses had moved. Neji watched on in slight shock, something seemed off.

"Hey Akamaru." Shinobu laughed, leaning down only to get knocked over by the hyper yipping dog who was attacking her cheek with kisses. It was then that another little black blob showed up.

"Kiba? You got another dog?" Shinobu asked, giggling as another dog joined in nuzzling her cheek. The celebrating team froze for a moment, exchanging worried glances.

"No.. Shinobu.. that's your dog." Kiba whispered.

"Oh.. I.. uhm.." She spluttered. "Maybe I should go talk to the Hokage now.. he's the only one I haven't seen yet.." She muttered before running off again.

"Akamaru.. follow her please." Kurenai whispered, watching the girl, earning a yip in response.

"She wasn't in the forest was she.." Neji murmured.

"I don't think so.." Kurenai sighed.

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

"Why didn't they warn me about that? That alone probably blew my cover." Shinobu cursed to herself. This is off, this was all off. Dogs can't lie.. those dogs.. they weren't pretending.. you can't train ninken to falsely befriend someone.. can you? "I wish I could just remember for myself so no one else would have to explain to me. I don't know who to trust anymore.." She whispered.

"I have important issues to bring to attention with the Hokage." Shinobu spoke to the two chunin's guarding the large building.

"Sure thing Shinobu, he should be in his office." One of them grinned waving her inside earning a slight nod. She wasn't quite sure where she was going but she was just going to look for a big important looking door. It wasn't long before she came across one that fit the bill. Taking a shaky breath she pounded her fist into the door.

"Come in." A calm, older voice said. Shinobu opened the door and walked in, closing it quietly behind her before kneeling and bowing.

"Hokage-sama.. may I have a word?" She asked. She didn't know much about the whole kage business but she knew it was important to be polite and formal. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. Kabuto nii-san had never explained.

"You don't have to bow, Shinobu." He said with a confused chuckle and Shinobu looked up in shock. "Take a seat, I could use a break anyway." He smiled at her. _This is the evil man who wants to use me?.. but.. he's so nice.. his eyes even sparkle! _She thought, refraining from letting her emotions show on her face.

"Thank you.." She nodded before taking a seat.

"So what is it you need to speak with me about?" He asked, his tone holding a love she rarely heard from strangers.

"I.." She hesitated. This was wrong.. he wasn't evil .. Naruto was no monster.. those dogs were no traitors.. her friends.. they were her friends! "Have you ever heard of Orochimaru.. Ojii-san?" She tested the last word out. It felt right.. these people were to kind. None of them seemed like they were lying to her.

"Yes.. I have, why? Have you heard anything I should know about?" His eyes widened in shock before turning very serious.

"I.. yah.. I think we may want to get a specialized jonin in here. " She sighed before explaining the entire story to him.

* * *

><p>"I mean.. I'm not sure what all he told me was true or not.. but.. you can't be evil.. Naruto isn't a monster.. and this village.. it seems like something I should want to protect.. not destroy." Shinobu nodded firmly, trying to convince herself she made the right decision.<p>

The other anbu and jonin in the room looked on in grim shock as she spoke. Inoichi had come in half way through the story to try to examine her brain, see if there was any damage and to help prove she wasn't lying. Not that the Hokage thought she was.

"Alright Shinobu.. thank you so much for letting me know. You still need to train for the chunin exams so why don't you talk to your friends. They might be able to help you a little with both training and your memory." The Hokage smiled and Shinobu nodded before leaving.

* * *

><p><strong>Hokage POV<strong>

"Was there anything useful, Inoichi?" The Hokage asked. The mood in the room was very somber and he was starting to think he preferred his paper work.

"She's been sealed by someone.. but from what I can tell she's being completely honest. Should we be canceling this exam?" He asked.

"No.. I think it would be better to go on as usual. We'll set up protection as needed, but may I ask for three anbu volunteers?"

"But! Hokage-sama!" Kurenai tried to protest.

"Trust in me Kurenai. If we show him that we've suspected something, he'll know the girl betrayed him. That may very well put her in danger." He gave a small smile. "I'd like to assign two anbu guards to each of the Uchiha twins. Kakashi will be training Sasuke so he can remain as one guard while another silent guard watches on. We still need two guards for Shinobu however." He explained.

"I can train with her.." Anko stepped forward. "Then she'll have someone right beside her and someone behind the lines, not to mention she was previously training with Gai." She explained earning a nod of approval from the Hokage.

"I can watch Uchiha Sasuke." A man with a bird mask stepped forward earning another grateful smile.

"And I'll watch Shinobu." Yugao Uzuki smiled behind her cat mask, her purple hair flowing behind her as she bowed her head.

"Alright.. I thank you all. Please be on high alert until these exams are over. We need to be careful."

"Hai!" Voices coursed one by one through the room until everyone but one was gone.

"Is there something I can help you with, Kurenai?" Sarutobi asked.

"She won't leave Konoha.. will she?" She asked after a moment's hesitation.

"While I can't be sure.. I must have faith in my people as she has put faith in me..."

* * *

><p><strong>Fun Fact: Shinobu isn't the only ninja of her name to work with Konoha. Shinobu Mibu is a 25 year old male chunin ninja working with Ikibi and can be found in episode 73 of the anime and chapter 116 of the manga!<strong>

* * *

><p>LilPrincess95: O.o you made it from chapter 7 to chapter 38 in less than a day. Holy fudge monkeys of flying doom. I'm so glad you enjoy it so far and that I managed to get another person to hate Mika :P Thanks for the review :)<p>

* * *

><p>Alpenwolf: Ouch? I'm kinda sad to hear you think that. I didn't mean to make it awkward or stupid.. so sorry about that. But I did try to explain at the top of this chapter. If it helps, I dislike Kabuto to a point too, so I kiinda skipped it a bit. lol. I see you still hate Mika XD Thanks for the review and I'll definitely try to make it better as quick as possible.<p>

* * *

><p>Big Sister of 8: Haha. I tried to hurry :P I found this chapter a little hard to write to be honest XD Thanks so much for the review I'm so happy you liked it so much XD<p>

* * *

><p>girl-of-anime: WHAT!.. first one words review XD I don't know how to respond but thanks for letting me know you're still reading haha.<p>

* * *

><p>chibichibi98: YA O.o kinda scary thought XD Thanks for reviewing and hopefully the above pleases you XD haha.<p>

* * *

><p>remy987: Updates are a wonderful thing :P Sharingan indeed, but can she use it when she actually intends to? Thanks so much XD 205. I'm super pumped lol<p>

* * *

><p>blaah: Aaah, soo many people hate Mika XD haha. Thanks for the review and no promises but I'll do my best XD :P<p>

* * *

><p>OrionRedde: THANK YOU XD You understood yaay. haha. Yup, trauma repressed the memories :D Shinobu's smart ;D she'll always figure it out XD I hope.. O.o thanks for the review :D<p> 


	40. West Coast Smoker

**So recently I've been thinking about the little things in life, like this story, or staring at clouds in my free time. You only live once right? Well youth is the time to get all of that stupid stuff out of the way, before responsibilities take over and you can't without consequences. In light of this? I got a mull-hawk (mix between mullet and mohawk) based off of demyx from kingdom hearts :) Any weird things any of you have done?**

**On a more story related note, there are only 9 chapters left in this one! :D We're almost at our year mark and the journey writing the story has been incredible along with reading your reviews. Thank you all for sticking it out with me. Note: There will be a sequel or rather another arch posted as a separate story.**

**P.S the song is "West Coast Smoker" by Fall out Boy. :)**

* * *

><p><strong> Hokage POV<strong>

"Finally." The Hokage murmured, watching with keen eyes as the crowed moved and interacted like a giant organism below. They were all making there way to one place, with the same goal in mind. The arena; to go watch the chunin exams.

* * *

><p>The arena was extremely large with tall large stands with a chakra barrier that would go up during each round to protect the spectators. The stands, though suited for hundreds upon hundreds of people, were almost completely full with more people still filing in.<p>

Anbu, jonin and chunin were stationed, some in disguise, through out the entire arena as well as various parts of the village as well. With in the hour the fighting would commence and they needed to be alert to any incoming attacks towards the village and it's people.

* * *

><p><strong>Neji POV<strong>

Neji stood in a small clearing, his back turned to his out of breath teammate, a small circle of weapons surrounding him with the odd kunai lodged in the nearby trees.

"Not even a scratch.. perfect Neji!" Tenten smiled.

"Thank you.. that's enough of a warm up. Let's go." Neji replied with a small smirk, getting a quick nod before they took off in the direction of the arena.

* * *

><p><strong>Naruto POV<strong>

"Finally, the main event. I'm so nervous, I could barely sleep." Naruto thought to himself as he sat up in bed, the bags under his eyes seemed to be pulling his eyes back closed. "First up against him." _The opening gates, frankly speaking, even my Sharingan can't see them. The leaf's strongest taijutsu style.. Most likely the strongest leaf genin is on my team. That is.. Hyuuga Neji! _

"Hahaha.. I can call frogs now! It'll be fine.. hahaha! Ha..." He sighed before starting off, he didn't want to be later for the match after all.

* * *

><p><strong>Hinata POV<strong>

"I should be there with my team.. but what if cousin Neji beats Naruto? I.." Hinata sighed, looking towards the arena from the training grounds.

"Hinata.. you're alright now?" A familiar voice asked from behind her.

"Huh? N-na-naruto-kun?" She spoke, mentally cursing her stuttering. "Why are you here? I-isn't today finals?"

"well.. I just came to check out this practice field. Since is the place I became a genin." He said with a slight nostalgic tone.

"Oh.. w-why?" She asked with a nervous smile.

"..Nothing! Who cares?" He replied quickly, trying to get away from the subject Hinata guessed. She hadn't meant to upset him.

"Oh..oh..yeah.. sorry." She stammered. They both stood in silence for a moment before Naruto sighed and looked up.

"Hinata.. Neji's a relative of yours..right?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah.." She replied in slight confusion.

"He's strong.. right?" He asked.

"Y..yeah.." She hesitated for a moment watching his sullen re-action. "B..but you might be able to beat him, Naruto-kun. B..."

"Hahaha! Ya! I am really strong." He cut her off with a grin before they were once again enveloped in awkward silence.

"Oh.. uuhm. when you cheered for me. I felt like I had become stronger. To other people it may not seem like I changed.. b..but.. I.. I felt like I was able to change. It was thanks to you.. N-naruto-kun." She smiled.

"Heh.. thanks to me? I.. thanks Hinata-chan.. but.. I may appear strong to you.. but.. That's because I act all tough because I'm so frustrated from always failing." He sighed.

"That's not true!" She spoke in a tone that startled herself causing her to blush before she continued. "Even when you do fail.. in my eyes.. y-you're a proud failure. W-when I look at you I get an intense feeling in my heart.. because you're not perfect. Because you fail.. you have the strength to get back up and I believe that's what true strength is. I think y-you're an incredibly strong person, Naruto." She smiled.

"Thanks Hinata..! Before I was feeling uncharacteristically depressed but.. now I feel great! You know about you.. I.. thought you were a plain looking, dark weirdo. But I like girls like you." He grinned. "Well I'm off to the exam, you better come watch me kick Neji's ass!" He grinned as he ran off.

"Naruto-kun.."

* * *

><p><strong>Kiba POV<strong>

Kiba grinned making his way to the training grounds where he knew Hinata was waiting for him. They could walk together to the arena to watch Shino and Shinobu fight. He couldn't wait to see everyone's face when they saw how strong she really was.

"Sorry, Hinata! I'm late... well, both of their fights aren't until till later. Huh..? Hinata?" He paused noticing her staring off towards the arena, a light blush coating her cheeks.

* * *

><p><strong>Ino POV<strong>

"Why are there so many people not here yet..?" Ino whispered, adding to the worry of the pink haired girl beside her. _Sasuke.. Kabuto.. Dosu.. Where are they all? Shinobu... where are YOU..?_

She sighed. "I know you're worried about Sasuke-kun, but.. Naruto's fight is up first, so instead of worrying.. why don't you cheer him on?" Ino asked, trying to help her friend. She looked startled for a minute before looking up with a small smile.

"..Yeah"

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

"One month.." Shinobu sighed, giving her best Uchiha glare to the gate. After standing here for almost twenty minutes she was starting to realize it wasn't going to open itself, or do anything else spectacular for that matter. "One month of training under Anko and Gai.. one month of regaining memories.. one month of constantly being watched.. one month of isolation from my friends outside of training.. one month.. so how is it that I still don't feel ready?"

She growled before giving her best kick to the near by bench, it gave an unhappy creak as several boards went flying, hurting her foot more than it had achieved. Letting out a frustrated cry she sat down, burying her head into her hands.

"Shinobu-kun?" A voice called from behind her, causing her to a jump a little in shock.

"Huh? Oh.. uh.. hi Lee." She sighed again, getting up to help him only to have him shake his head. It was odd, seeing Lee so bandaged up. He should have been one of the people here.. not her.. she hadn't given it her all during those preliminaries like he had.

"Why haven't you gone in yet? They're going to start soon.." He gave a small sad smile.

"Ya.. well.. I don't know." She sighed.

"Your battle of youth is waiting for you, that is not reaction for you to have. You must fight with all of your heart!" He grinned, giving her a thumbs up. Her eyes widened, when he had realized she was upset he immediately urged her onwards.. despite his one desire to be fighting right now.

"I.. what if I lose?" She finally asked what was really bugging her.

"Then you fight with your heart and accept your defeat with pride. Then you train until you know you could beat that person in your next fight." He grinned. She nodded with a smile before glaring down the doors.

"You're right.. and I CAN do this." She grinned before entering.

* * *

><p>"Hey, stop looking around, face the customers. In this tournament, you guys are the stars." Genma said, gesturing to the large crowed. Shinobu took a look around before sneaking into line beside Shino. It was odd, being watched like that by so many people. Now that she had the attention of the villagers.. it was rather unnerving.<p>

"I thought you weren't going to show up." Shino muttered.

"Ya well.. I can't let everyone down, now, can I?" She grinned. Shino went to respond but a loud voice took over the attention of everyone in the arena.

"THANKS EVERYONE FOR COMING TO THE HIDDEN LEAF CHUNIN SELECTION EXAM! WE WILL NOW START THE MAIN TOURNAMENT MATCHES.. BETWEEN THE TEN PARTICIPANTS WHO MADE IT THROUGH THE PRELIMINARIES! PLEASE STAY AND WATCH UNTIL THE END." The hokage finished earning a roar of applause from the audience.

"Oi, pay attention to me for a minute." Genma spoke quickly to the eight people standing there. "There's something I'd like to tell you before the matches. Look at this." He said, holding up what looked to be a revised version of their earlier chart. Instead of the previous eleven names, Dosu's name was gone from the chart leaving Shikamaru with one less match.

"There have been some minor changes to the tournament. Check once again to see who you're fighting." He spoke.

"Hey, hey!" Naruto spoke out raising his hand.

"What?" Genma asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sasuke isn't here yet, what are you going to do?" He asked.

"If he doesn't appear by the time of his match he'll receive a default loss." Genma quickly explained. "Any other questions? Everyone knows who they're fighting?" He asked quickly showing the chart again.

Shinobu quickly located her name and the order and made a small cough. They had switched it!

"A problem?" Genma asked.

"Uh.. no." Shinobu grinned sheepishly earning a quick nod from Genma.

"Alright then, this is the final test. The arena is different but the rules are the same as in the prelims, there are none. You fight until one of you dies or admits defeat. But if I determine that the fight is over.. I'll step in and stop it, got that?"

Eight consecutive nods.

"Now, the first fight.. everyone except for the two fighters will go to the waiting room. First match.." He spoke turning to the audience, who roared in anticipation, raising his voice. "UZUMAKI NARUTO.. AND YAKUSHI KABUTO!"

* * *

><p><strong>Review time:<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Sango Higorashi(chapter 3): <strong>Mhmm, haha, she is quite the personality, eh? :P Thanks so much! p.s -.- get internet woman.

* * *

><p><strong>Flufflover:<strong> Holy wow. Thank you soo much for this review. I appreciate it so much. It takes a couple of hours per chapter so it's nice to have someone notice :P Fluff will definitely appear when the time is right :) Thank you soo much.

* * *

><p><strong>Remy987:<strong> Yup :) haha. thanks so much for the reviews and haha I can wish but we'll see :P only 9 chapters to go I think that 250 is a little more reasonable XD

* * *

><p><strong>Big Sis of 8: <strong>I'm glad you like it so much, I definitely try to update often (if only the author's I watch did the same. LOL.) but I really appreciate that :) Thanks so much.

* * *

><p><strong>Mayacompany: <strong>A silent reader is a reader none the less :) I try my best and thank you so much for reading.

* * *

><p><strong>OrionRedde: <strong>:D Old english! XD my life is complete. lol. He is definitely manipulative but something tells me you're not the only one biting their thumb ;D thanks for the review :D

* * *

><p><strong>girl-of-anime:<strong> Hmm, not quite sure what you mean by weird name. Shinobu? If so, while not the most popular or common name is just a simple Japanese name like Naruto or Neji or any of the others :) Meaning Endurance and a play off of the word Shinobi :P That's why I chose it anyway.

* * *

><p><strong>Alpenwolf: <strong>Haha, well then write it all you want because I definitely agree :P Just found them recently but I'm sure glad I did. I'll be honest here and say I didn't even consider the curse mark when I read this review but I'm sure considering it now XD Partly indeed, but ya, Orochimaru has always been my least favourite character. lol. Oops! Misunderstanding XD Ooh, that makes more sense. Either way honest opinions are nice "not so good" refers to my own skill level in the story, not the review. I like flames because they help me fix my stories :P Haha, thanks for the reviews :)


	41. Simple Life

**A/N: I.. am.. sooo FRUSTRATED. Fanfiction hasn't been working my new laptop is now 5 months overdue and I don't expect to get it. I caught a horrible bug and the nurse in the hospital bruised my arms with IVs oh and I missed over a week of school and exams are to close for comfort not to mention a con drawing near-er and my cosplay isn't done because my bank locked me out online. and I don't have access to any of my paychecks.. and I lost my bank card. P.S never gonna abandon the story. For those who were asking. literally.. it gets finished or I die.**

* * *

><p><strong>For those who care:<strong> Hitami, the dog featured in many of my stories, is based off of my real life furry companion. Brody (his real name) has recently gone through surgery and is ill. Should he ever pass on I fully plan on doing the same with Hitami in every story she's in regardless of what's going on in the story. It's a personal decision and I hope you'll understand should the situation arise.

* * *

><p><strong>Song: Simple Life by My Favourite Highway.. I'm not sure if it fits.. but I'm running out of songs.<strong>

* * *

><p><em>"Now, the first fight.. everyone except for the two fighters will go to the waiting room. First match.." He spoke turning to the audience, who roared in anticipation, raising his voice. "UZUMAKI NARUTO.. AND YAKUSHI KABUTO!<em>

* * *

><p>"Hm.. well this will be interesting. Not according to plan, but interesting. Let's see what our little Shinobu's 'Brother' can do." Kabuto grinned, pretending to listen to Naruto's echoing shouts of never giving up, setting up a battle plan in his head. He knew probably didn't need it to beat the boy but there was no harm in being on the safe side, the people here really didn't give the boy enough credit.<p>

* * *

><p>"Good luck.. Naruto nii-chan." Shinobu whispered as she made her way towards the participant's balcony only to quickly hide among other people trying to find last minute seats in the crowd, letting a simple genjutsu hide her features. As long as she could get from her seat to the arena for her match she saw no reason not to sit with her two teammates in the crowd.<p>

"Now if only I can find them." She growled to herself. She hadn't had a chance to talk to him since the preliminaries and apparently he had been too busy to train with her thanks to the legendary pervert. Crossed fingers and whispered encouragement would have to do and it was making her nervous. She needed her team.

"The guy who failed 6 times in a row and the academy's dead last.. this'll is either going to be really good or over very quickly." One of the chunin's who normally guarded the entrance to Konoha grinned.

"You have to give them credit, getting this far on luck? It isn't easy."

"Ya well, my money's on the kid with the glasses. He had the chance to be here before and pulled out. Naruto is a first timer."

"Hn, don't underestimate him." Shinobu muttered under her breath, finally catching her teammates and sitting on a step in the aisle beside Hinata.

"Uhm.. a-aren't there any chairs around here?" She stuttered in shock, looking down at the 'random' newcomer.

"But that would defeat the purpose of being out here, to sit with you." Shinobu grinned, waiting for her teammate to catch on.

"Oi, don't hit on Hinata-chan." Kiba growled.

"Kiba.. it's me.. Shinobu?" Shinobu stifled her laughter as Kiba's expression changed from angry, to confused, to shocked, to wonder, to sheepish in a matter of three seconds.

"Won't you get in trouble for being here?" Hinata asked, stutter instantly disappearing.

"As long as I can get into the arena in time for my match I'm fine. Besides, people are here for a show so why not give them an entrance." Shinobu grinned before turning her attention to a whimpering Akamaru.

"There's anbu here.." Kiba muttered, glancing around. _So Hokage-sama did take some measures just in case.. or is that one of father's men?_

"It may just because this is a good target.. but you two be careful alright? If anything happens Kiba's in no condition to fight so it's best that you plan an escape now." Shinobu muttered, she didn't want to scare them but she probably wouldn't be up here with them when or if anything started.

"Alright, we'll be fine.. but they're starting." Hinata pointed out as Naruto's clones filled the arena earning quite the cheer from the crowd.

"Hinata.. can you use Byakugan during the fight to let us know what's going on? When Naruto's clones disappear there is usually smoke so Kiba and I won't be able to see.

* * *

><p>"So you know a B-rank jutsu, impressive." Kabuto grinned. "But there's no use in there being more of you if you still can't land a hit."<p>

"Just you wait, I'll get more than a hit." He growled, all of his clones running forward as Kabuto's hands began to glow lightly with chakra. During the first of the blows Naruto tried his best to remember his training, Shinobu's advice on the forefront of his mind as he concentrated on his defense with an offense style of fighting. Letting his muscles settle into the rough but soothing rhythm of the fight.

While Kabuto remained focused on his clones he let his mind wander attempting to set up a plan. Kabuto was strong, and his companion. If he didn't go at him with everything he had, he wouldn't win.

The smoke of the never ending clones was already starting to fill the arena. and after several minutes of attempting to get past Kabuto's defenses, Naruto lost his temper and began hitting him as if trying to stake him into the ground.

Kabuto merely smiled, when he put forth some effort, if he had to, this would be a quick defeat and easy humiliation. Naruto had simply picked the short straw and was forced to be his amusement, until then however he'd have a chance to see what the boy could do.

The crowd, who had chattered and cheered their local favorite, became completely silent, and the air rang with the singing of the blades and the hoarse rasp of the clones. One of the clones quickly slipped past Kabuto's defense making a move to slash at his chest. Kabuto dodged, laughing as if having a marvelous time.

"Wonderful strategy, Naruto. But you need to do better than that." Kabuto grinned, quickly caught off guard as Naruto took the opportunity to slash backhandedly in a return blow, catching Kabuto's arm and leaving a trail of blood.

"Looks like it's time to get serious." Naruto blinked as if coming out of a daze and before he knew it Kabuto was on the offense and he was dodging hits. One hit to his arm told him that this was something he desperately needed to dodge, it had gone limp in the brief second before his clone disappeared.

"What the hell is that?" Naruto shouted, aiming at keeping him further distracted.

* * *

><p>"Why does he keep doing the same things if they're not working?" Kiba growled.<p>

"Because that's not him down there." Shinobu grinned. "He has clones fighting right now. So for every hit Kabuto takes Naruto hasn't taken one. He's probably coming up with a strategy.. which is kind of shocking to be honest." She laughed, earning funny looks from the nearby chunin.

* * *

><p>"That would be a secret. But apparently you're smart enough to avoid it, good job Naruto. Which is how I know the real you isn't attacking."<p>

"What?"

"The more you attack the more I can see that you have one body hanging back." Kabuto grinned before attacking and hitting Naruto square in the chest. He double over wheezing almost immediately.

"See?" Kabuto smiled. "Good try though, you're improving."

"Don't underestimate me." Naruto grinned for a moment before that body, too, turned into smoke.

"What?" Kabuto took a step back in shock.

"Yah! GO NARUTO!" Kiba shouted from crowd as two clones attacked from behind Kabuto sending him flying through the air.

Quickly rushing after him Naruto skidded to a halt, propping Kabuto up and kicking him into the air just to kick him back down again.

"Ugh.. these clones are killing my chakra reserves." Kabuto sighed with a frown before rushing towards Naruto with a glowing hand raised.

Before he could attack however he paused looking to Genma.

"Is there a problem?" He asked from his toothpick.

"I give up."

"WHAT? WHY ARE YOU GIVING UP?" Naruto shouted, bringing Kabuto's statement to the audience and hearing an aggravated roar of disappointment.

"I don't have enough chakra or stamina to keep fighting you. You win." Kabuto waved slightly before making his way off to the balcony. Or at least that's what he wanted people to think. _So they are going through with this plan.. Naruto should have lost there._

"Winner.. UZUMAKI NARUTO!.. Due to forfeit.." Genma sighed.

* * *

><p>"Well that was.. interesting." Kiba muttered in disappointment.<p>

"Ya... but at least Naruto won right?" Hinata smiled.

"Yup! But the crowd is getting really restless.." Shinobu mumbled looking around.

"Probably because of the next match... Sasuke and Gaara." Kiba whispered, trying to walk on eggshells for Shinobu.

* * *

><p>"Where is he..?" The Kazekage asked, scanning the arena.<p>

"Hokage-sama.. that's just it. We still can't find him.." A jonin whispered. "And we still have Orochimaru to deal with, so.. before everyone starts to make a big fuss, maybe we should just disqualify him."

"What's going on! Hurry up and start the next match!"

"How long are you going to keep us waiting?"

"Sheesh.." Genma sighed.

"What's going on? Is Sasuke-kun even here for his match?" Ino whispered to Sakura.

"What the heck is that guy doing? Is he planning not to come?" Shikamaru muttered. "Troublesome."

"Confucious said, 'The wise do not approach the dangerous.' A wise decision perhaps?" Shino wondered aloud.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto grinned while leaning on the rail. "He's definitely.. going to come!"

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! The contest for the next match hasn't arrived yet! Therefore, we will push his match back and begin the next one!" Genma announced to the audience.

"Well that sucks." Kiba growled.

"Well ya.. but I'm sure he has his reasons.." Hinata sighed.

"Ya! Besides, Shino's next." Shinobu grinned, trying to brighten the mood despite the darkening mood she was feeling.

"Alright.. NEXT UP! ABURAME SHINO AND SUBAKU NO KANKURO!" Genma shouted.

"Uhm.. sir..? I'd like to forfeit as well." Kankuro sighed leaning over the railing.

"Uh.. you sure?" Genma asked earning a nod.

"Honestly.. what's with all of these forfeits?" Kiba sighed.

"Alright.. Winner Aburame Shino!" Genma shouted shaking his head and dodging a flying apple. The audience was not liking this. Why had he agreed to take this job again? Oh ya, the pay. "NEXT UP! Nara Shikamaru and Subaku no Temari!"

* * *

><p>"Ch.." Temari clicked the tongue to the roof of her mouth before pulling out her fan and gliding to the left side of the examiner.<p>

"Looks like your eager.. Shikamaru get down here!" Genma shouted.

"What's she getting all excited about? I wish she'd just die.." Shikamaru growled to himself. "How come I'm the only one getting their matches switched around so much? Well I guess I could just forfeit as well.."

"Alright Shikamaru! Go for it!" Naruto shouted pushing him and before he knew it he was toppling over the rail and plummeting towards his next fight.

"Hey! Hurry up and fight!"

"Yeah! Hurry up an finish this crappy match!"

"Get up kid! How long are you going to lay there!"

"Sigh.. Everyone wants to see Sasuke's fight. They're probably angry because after all this waiting, they have to watch this pathetic excuse for a match between two side acts. Since nobody cares about this fight. There isn't really any point in doing it." Shikamaru thought to himself.

"What? Are you going to give up to?" Temari grinned.

"Aw man.. it's a girl again?" He sighed.

"Shikamaru! Good luck!" Naruto cheered.

"If you won't come then I will!" Temari shouted running towards him. _She looks funny upside down.._

"Hey! I haven't started the match yet!" Genma shouted.

"Oh man that girl is revved up.." Shikamaru sighed before dodging the fan that was lodged into the dirt where his head had been.

"Ya know, I don't really want to fight.. and I don't care whether I become a chunin or not... but I'm not going to lose to a girl!" Shikamaru smirked.. but on the inside his thoughts were on another track. _Oh man.. those clouds are so lucky.. so free.. more to the point, I didn't feel like doing this at all to begin with._

* * *

><p><strong>seri glaze: <strong>It's coming, not until at least the sequel though ^^; Thanks for the review

* * *

><p><strong>Aleu-Rhen-Tempyst:<strong> Ah, but one person in there would change who the machine picks. Sorry if it bugs you, I changed less of them in the next section but not many are shown either. Thanks for the review :)

* * *

><p><strong>Shapeshift1: <strong>Hahaha XD Thank you so much for that. Despite problems I intend to :) Thanks for the review :D

* * *

><p><strong>Yami Mizuna: <strong>Ah, I know. Unfortunately I don't get paid for this and I'm kinda lazy so I haven't actually proof read any of it. I don't have a beta either. So spelling is usually just typos. I intend on re-reading my entire story and fixing all of that though once I hit chapter 50. sowwy. I definitely won't skip such a big plot thing. I just skip boring stuff. Or stuff that's the exact same as the original. Thanks for the review :)

* * *

><p><strong>Big Sis of 8: <strong>Aah I feel so cruel. You praise my quick updating and I stopped altogether. Sorry! Life gets in the way a lot but I definitely try my best to keep my updates quick. I read too so I know how annoying it can be when someone doesn't update. Thanks so much though, I really appreciate the reviews :D

* * *

><p><strong>Flufflover: <strong>Haha, it's not ending :P This is simply going to be the end of this arc. Then it will go onward in another story. At this rate I expect there to be at least 2 other arcs. That would be hellish training O.o Hehe, thanks for the review, and she will she always does XD

* * *

><p><strong>Alpenwolf: <strong>The joy of pain training :D Could be an advantage had Kabuto taken it seriously. I hate lying too so I'd prefer people give the painful/awkward/displeasing advice. I'm not usually offended so my friends tend to be honest with me :P That's a great quote though. :) Thanks for the review :D

* * *

><p><strong>OrionRedde:<strong> Hahaha XD Probably not what you had in mind but he lived right? I'll definitely post a "alert chapter" on here to let people know when I'm up and posting. Thanks so much for the review I'll do my best! :D

* * *

><p><strong>GaarasMyBoyzz: <strong>Not quite soon.. but I'm trying. I've always found Itachi to be an extremely intelligent character so we'll see. You may read fast but I'll admit some of my chapters are short. I try but I really just go with the flow, if it looks like a good place to cut off I will mostly regardless of length. Thanks for the review! :D (p.s when I do that I tend to update again soon unless something comes up so it kinda fixes itself)


	42. It's My Turn Now

**A/N: On a roll... that last chapter actually took 3 and a half hours. Bye bye day XD I still have so much to update. Oh well. Enjoy!**

**Song: It's My Turn Now by Keke Palmer**

* * *

><p>"I give up," Shikamaru finally said after a moment's pause. "The continuous use of the shadow copy no jutsu has used up all of my chakra. I can barely bind you for more than 10 seconds. I had thought up about 200 more moves but.. it looks like I'm out of time. I'm getting tired of this... one match is enough for me."<p>

"Weird fellow.." Genma smirked. "WINNER.. TEMARI!"

"Ugh.." Temari growled to herself, not exactly the way she had wanted that to go.

"Man! I'm tired!" Shikamaru groaned popping his shoulder.

"Ahh! What a waste! It was his chance to become a chunin!" Ino growled, choking an invisible person in front of her.

"That's just who he is." Choji smiled.

"Geez.. is he motivated or not?" Kurenai said in awed shock.

"I don't really know either." Asuma smirked.

"But that child's intellect and strategy is beyond the level of a genin. If this was an actual mission with a 4 member team, Shikamaru's victory would have been definitive the moment he caught her. Well.. it's like he won the battle but lost the match."

"It's true that it's unfortunate that he doesn't seem to have an motivation, but you could also say that allows him to have calm and collective decision making skills. Because he knows his own strengths and skills, he doesn't panic in battle and he doesn't lose his cool. So even in the worst conditions, he can act calmly." Asuma explained. "When you talk about the mental make up necessary for a chunin.. Shikamaru has the most important abilities.. that would make for a good leader."

* * *

><p>"I have to apologize but we're still waiting for a participant. So for now, one of the battles you've all been waiting for. Uchiha Shinobu and Hyuuga Neji!" Genma's voice echoed over the stands for a brief second before the roar of the audience eliminated his voice altogether.<p>

"My turn now." Shinobu bluffed with a grin, nodding to her teammates before standing, earning a few glances from near by spectators. Neji was already down there waiting for her.

Biting her lip she let the genjutsu drop and let her expression fade into a typical emotionless smirk. _Maybe now he'll see the resemblance when he shows up. _Taking an invisible but deep breath she ran down the aisle and jumped from the railing, soaring several feet through the air before twirling and landing smoothly on her feet beside Neji.

"You're going to fight in that form?" He scoffed.

"Your going to fight in that one?" She countered. "To the audience it still looks like a boy and a girl fighting.. just a little backwards. What's the harm in that." She smirked, straightening to nod towards Genma who, thought confused, nodded back.

"Let the third match begin!"

"Are you going to make the first move or not..?" Neji asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Oh sorry, I thought it was ladies first." Shinobu scoffed before quickly engaging Neji in a battle of simple taijutsu as she continued the conversation. "I was actually just wondering how your leg muscles were doing since our last little training incident."

Genma watched the two talk in confusion, he would admit it was amusing to see the Hyuuga turn such a brilliant shade of red but how had these two previously interacted. Did they know each other already? And if so, how?

"I'm fine.." Neji gritted out. "But where's your dog?" He asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"On the sidelines unless I need her.. which I won't." Shinobu explained, nodding to the nearby trees which were missing a few leaves from the last battle.

"Why do you pretend to be something.. someone.. you're not?" Neji asked, dodging a swift kick towards his head.

"What do you mean?" Shinobu asked, using Neji's kick as a step to propel her backwards into the safety zone for his techniques. She fought Hinata enough to know she needed distance if she wanted to talk without fear of losing her ability to use chakra.

"You pretend to be a boy, you pretend to be a Hyuuga, you pretend to be a branch member, you pretend to have ninken and be a part of the Inuzuka, you pretend that you have family." Neji rattled on, eyeing her carefully and ignoring the jeers from the audience ushering them to continue fighting.

"My gender is irrelevant, I don't pretend to be a Hyuuga though I was accepted into the clan, I have a seal to prove my loyalty though I am no branch member and Hitami is my ninken.. I have never claimed to be with the Inuzuka clan. I have no clue what you're talking about with that last one though.." Shinobu growled, trying not to take the question personally.

"Naruto isn't your family.. it is his as is yours to be alone. We, as Hyuuga's are not your family.. so why do you treat us as such?" He asked. Shinobu instead of answering straight away charged into a series of flips and twists till she was back in adrenaline pumping close combat.

She could hear her heart pounding in her chest, blood rushing past her ears both of which were combining to block out the gasps of the audience as she adopted the Hyuuga stance.

"For someone who has such a big plan you sure know jack shit about family." Shinobu growled as she fell backwards matrix style to avoid a hit to the points near her respiratory system.

"For someone who is not an actual Hyuuga clan member you sure talk like you know about us." He responded simply. She froze staring at him in shock for a moment, just long enough to take a hit that sent her sprawling backwards.

"You actually have the nerve to speak as if I don't? I'm so sorry that I'm the same as you Neji but guess, what, that's the difference too! We may both have this damn seal but you let it trap you. It helps make me free. You take what's handed to you and complain and whine only to yourself. Get a clue, there's a fork in the road. It's your decision. Take which fork you want but stop standing at the intersection with your damned Byakugan and pretending you see all and know all!"

"What..?"

"Just because you see doesn't mean you know. Your seal and eyes are making you blind to the possibilities, Neji!" She growled before attacking him again. Using her blend of styles she attacked primarily with her feet to get the wire in her hands ready before quickly weaving him into her trap, pulling the metal rope tight and binding him to the tree.

"The one who sets your fate is not that clan. The one who sets your fate is you! Katon! Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" She shouted letting the flames run along the wire towards a wide eyed Neji before a faint shout filled the air.

"Kaiten!" The smoke slowly left in spirals to reveal a completely unharmed Neji standing in a small crater in the ground.

"I can see everything.. don't underestimate me!" He growled.

"No, you can't! It's that attitude, that right there that proves it!" Shinobu cried out in anger.

"Explain then.. explain what I can't see!"

"You have a family right in front of you that you refuse to see because of the damned seal on your forehead. Hinata cares about you and treats you as if you are her brother yet you constantly tear her down while she does nothing but help raise you up."

"She is weak, I am simply stating the truth." Neji sighed in slight annoyance.

"No, she's strong. You just want so badly to rebel against the main branch that you do everything you can that technically doesn't break rules. Your so set on going against your so called fate that you're trying to break down the walls that trap you.. how can you not see the open window?" Shinobu asked.

"You don't know anything! It's not that easy! Everyone has a different destiny at birth.. there is only one we all share.. and that.. is death!" Neji shouted, his eyes narrowing.

"Then tell me, when will you die? How will you die? Who will you die beside? Who will remember you when you are gone?"

"That is unknown to nobody but the god's of fate."

"No! Those are things you can change, control. When I die, it will be protecting those I care about. I will not die until I have made sure they are safe. I will die along side my comrades, who will live. Those who remember me will be the loved ones I protected, the people I've taken the time to become close to during my life."

"That's pathetic.."

"You have a person like that.. you have six people who would remember you if you die right now. Is that how you want to go out?"

"Oh really? Who, then."

"Hinata.. the girl who looks up to you as one of her role models and as her family. Hiashi, who despite your cold demeanor cares for you. Tenten who you treat as nothing more than dirt yet she would give your life for you as a comrade, Lee who treats you as a worthy opponent, rival and friend and Gai who treats you as a pupil and someone who he can take under his wing to protect and better and even learn from." Shinobu explained.

"That's only five people."

"Me.. the stupid idiot who thought she could change you and may very well die trying." Shinobu shouted, charging again and hitting several pressure points in his legs and shoulders before she found herself eating the dirt once again.

"Some things _are_ set in stone.. why can't you accept that?" He asked watching her.

"Because.. that would require me giving up and Naruto _nii-chan_ would have me with all the chores in the entire house if I did that." Shinobu grinned wiping some of the blood from her mouth before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"What?"

"I'm coming at you.. with everything I've got and already prepared to die if means showing you the true light those eyes of yours can't see!" Shinobu shouted as she ran at a much which speed from the other side "Konoha gōriki senpū!"

"Lee's..? Kaiten!" Neji shouted catching her off guard and sending her flying. _That would have hit.. damn it._

"That's Lee and Gai's move.." Neji muttered.

"I've been training under Gai-sensei too.. did you expect me to do nothing for this past month?"

"It doesn't matter.. this is over. You are within the field of my Hakke." Neji smirked slightly.

"I.. shit." Shinobu's eyes widened as she quickly took in her surroundings. She'd have to either do one hell of a job dodging or she'd be toast.

"Gentle fist style, 64 hands of hakke!" Neji shouted sliding into a stance Shinobu had only seen Hiashi use.

"Hakke two hands, four hands! Eight hands!" Neji shouted as he moved through the hits Shinobu managing to dodge a fair number of them and block others but it was obvious to anyone watching that she was taking too many hits. "Sixteen hands! Thirty-two hands! Sixty-four hands!"

"Guh!" Shinobu coughed groaning as the chakra holes stopped the chakra from reaching her limbs. _I don't have the chakra for this.. damn it. _She rolled to spit up some blood as her genjutsu dropped revealing a girl with short spiked hair, fish nets and shorts in the place of the Sasuke look a like.

"I have almost hit 64 points on your body and you can no longer stand." Neji sighed, dropping his stance.

"Ugh..."

"Is it painful?"

"..y..you.." Shinobu whimpered carefully getting back to her feet.

"What?"

"You still don't get it... I.. I'm never g-going to give up." Shinobu gritted her teeth before moving to face him ignoring the gasps of shock and shouts.

"S-SHINOBU'S A GIRL?" Ino shouted in pure shock, earning a laugh from Kiba a couple of rows over.

"S-she'll have to deal with all the fangirls now." Hinata giggled, despite the situation she couldn't help but smile slightly. Even Neji looked shell shocked at the reaction of the people around them.

"OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A GIRL!" Shinobu turned to shout at the audience for a moment when she heard a ridiculous accusation of her getting a sex change.

"Heh.. as amusing as that is.. you should quit already. I have no grudge against you.. this won't change anything."

"Ya.. well.. maybe you should.. because I'm going to change your so called fate. Until you can see everything I do.. I will never give up!"

"The Hyuuga's destiny of hatred.. I'll tell you about our fate.. The Hyuuga main family has a special ninjutsu that's been passed down. As you should know.. it's a curse seal jutsu." He started to explain.

"You think I don't know about that..?" Shinobu questioned, wondering what he was getting at but hoping he would keep going this would give her a chance to attack again.

"The curse of the mark represents a "bird in a cage".. it is a symbol of being tied down to an inescapable destiny." Neji spoke, untying his forehead protector and letting it drop to his side to reveal a curse seal not all that different from her own besides the symbol laying on his forehead.

"One day.. when I was four, I had this horrible seal carved into my forehead through that curse seal jutsu. That day, a grand ceremony was taking place in the leaf. A shinobi leader from the cloud country which had been at war with the leaf for many years, had arrived to sign an alliance treaty. But at this ceremony which everyone attended from jonin to genin, there was one clan missing." Neji spoke, ignoring Shinobu's confusion.

"That was the Hyuuga clan, because that was the important day that the Hyuuga heir turned three. Hinata-sama's third birthday. My father, Hyuuga Hizashi and Hinata-sama's father over there Hyuuga Hiashi were twins. But Hinata-sama's father, Hiashi-sama, was born to this world first... a member of the main family and my father, as second son, became a member of the branch family."

"Neji.. would you please get to the point." Shinobu sighed, having given up on attacking as there was obviously a point to be made here.

"When the Hyuuga daughter grew and turned three.. I was turned into the "bird in the cage", through this curse.. as a Hyuuga branch family member. This mark not only distinguishes the differences between the branches but also gives control and power to the main house members."

"Neji.. I have a seal.. I know this. What are you getting at."

"Did Hiashi explain to you? That this seal is the absolute fear of death given to the branch families by the main family. With a simple secret hand seal, the branch member's mind can easily be destroyed. Death is just as easy.. of course.. And this curse will only disappear after death. Sealing up the ability of the Byakugan and all the member's knowledge with it.

"He did explain.. I accepted the contract of the bird.. but I have no cage. That cage is a choice of your own." Shinobu whispered.

"Then you are disillusioned. A branch member is allowed to live only to protect the main family. No disobedience is allowed by the main family.. surely you know this because of Mika. It's an effective system, created to eternally protect the advanced blood line of the Hyuuga.. and.. that incident occurred."

"What incident..?"

"Heh. My father.. was killed by main family." Neji hissed.

"Huh..?" Shinobu gasped, taking a small step backwards.

"One night Hinata-sama was taken by someone. Then Hiashi-sama quickly took care of it and killed the man. It was dark and he was wearing a mask. Who do you think it was?" Neji asked with a small smirk.

"Who..?"

"He was.. He was the cloud country shinobi leader.. who had just signed the alliance treaty. It became clear that he had only been after the Hyuuga secrets from the beginning. But the cloud country, with one of their leaders killed in the failed plan, made demands of the leaf for breaking the alliance." Neji whispered. "Of course the leaf and the cloud bickered back and forth and it almost came to war."

"But there hasn't been a war in our time." Shinobu whispered more to herself than Neji, knowing he would soon explain.

"The leaf, wanting to avoid war, made a back door deal with the cloud." Neji explained.

"Deal?"

"The cloud wanted the Hyuuga main family's advanced blood line and the Byakugan. They demanded the corpse of Hiashi-sama.. and the leaf agreed to their wishes, so the war was safely avoided." Neji gritted.

"Then why isn't Hiashi dead?" Shinobu countered.

"The war was safely avoided.. thanks to my dad. Who was killed by the main family to replace Hiashi-sama's corpse. To escape this curse.. there is no method but death." Neji finished leaving not only Shinobu, but the majority of the audience in shock. "You can't possibly understand.. there is no way out of this fate! You're wasting your time!"

"You're wrong.. I understand." Shinobu whispered. "You and I both know we share this curse."

"But you could never understand what it's like to be burdened with a symbol you could never rid yourself of. You can leave!" Neji shouted.

"I can't leave.. I made that oath when I was accepted into the Hyuuga.. and even if I could.. I would never abandon Hinata. I.. would go through that horrible pain tenfold to protect the Hyuuga." Shinobu shouted growling as she brought her hands up into a seal.

"What are you doing? You have no chakra."

"I'm not.. I'm showing you.. my seal." Shinobu growled whispering to herself before the seal and the wounds gained form it began to glow a faint blue. Lighting up you could see burns running from her collar down to the edge of her shorts. "But I have more than a seal.. you asked why I pretend to be a boy?"

"What does that even have to do with this..?" Neji asked, voice shaking.

"Being female.. is my seal.. that is the seal I fear. It is what cost me my clan. You are so ignorant to the family right in front of you.. so I what? I happily bear your seal for my clan. I may not have been born into it.. but I am a Hyuuga clan member. This seal.. gives me family.. my seal.. cost me everything." She growled.

"What do you mean.."

"I was forced out of my clan.. because I am female and my father had no desire for someone as weak as I to be in his family. Not until I was old enough to join the academy did anyone know I even existed. I lived on the streets passed by my own brother on a daily basis and he didn't even know I was his family! To live on the streets.. all alone.. that's a pain you will never understand." She bit out.

"Shinobu..I.."

"Naruto understands that pain. Others.. the people of Konoha are so ignorant. But guess what, ignorance and cages... they don't matter these people will always be my family and I will protect them whether they like it or not! Don't you dare tell me about destiny.. because I've already changed mine!" She shouted.

"Even so.. how do you possibly plan to fight me without chakra. In the end you and Hinata share the same destiny."

"Shut up! Stop using that Byakugan to decide and act like you know everyone's destiny!"

"Then prove to me that what you're saying is correct." Neji challenged.

"Hiashi.. forgive me for this." Shinobu shouted, turning to face where he sat shocked in the crowd and bowing slightly before holding a familiar hand sign.

"You can't possibly activate my seal.. you shouldn't know that." Neji growled wide eyed before taking a step away.

"It's not yours I'm activating.. It's mine." She grinned with a small laugh before her seal began to glow again, this time her eyes with it. "If it's a battle of the eyes the audience wants they'll get it. Let's see how your Byakugan holds up against my Sharingan!" She shouted.

"You use the seal to activate your Sharingan?" Neji asked, awestruck.

"You have no time for questions, Neji!" Shinobu shouted moving at blurring speeds and attacking Neji at what appeared to be all sides. Every move he made she could see it. It was as if she could see what he was going to do before he did it and plan accordingly.

The crowd cheered as the two were left panting, neither causing more damage than the other. Both in slight awe of the other's abilities.

"You.. blocked my chakra.. but you can't see my points without the Byakugan." Neji wheezed.

"Nope.. but I can guess. It doesn't take a genius to poke in a general area." Shinobu grinned, the clarity of her vision leaving her as Neji's left him.

"Looks like we're fighting without the eyes then."

"Yup.. but one of these times.. I'll show you the true power of the Sharingan." Shinobu challenged.

"Hn.." _I'll look forward to it. _"Just worry about defeating me now."

"This is a long battle.. you have two minutes left." Genma interrupted earning matching scowls.

"This ends now, Hyuuga." Shinobu said before rushing forward and dropping to knee level, sweep her leg around and taking Neji down before flipping over and landing on his back quickly pulling a kunai to his neck.

"Winner.. UCHIHA SHINOBU!" Genma called out, the response was deafening. The crowd roared and Shinobu let a small chuckle out before rolling off Neji in hysterical laughter.

"Uh.. we might need a medic.. she seems to have lost a few too many brain cells." Neji muttered only causing Shinobu to keep laughing before promptly passing out.

"Can we get medics for these two, please?" Genma called out, Neji unable to protest due to his injuries.

"Next... Subaku no Gaara and Uchiha Sasuke!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: That has got to be one of my longest chapters yet :D Chyaaah! Hope you're enjoying.**

* * *

><p><strong>GaarasMyBoyzz: <strong>Wheaties? lmfao :D I do have short chapters.. for the most part... some can be quite long O.o like the above. It depends. I definitely don't TRY to rush chapters. I cannot guarantee not dropping off the face of the earth as I'm a klutz. But I'll try to at least have a harness or something so I come back eventually :D It sounds like a good story but as hypocritical as I know this is.. I tend to avoid OC stories. especially abandoned ones :P I still may check it out at some point. Itachi fan girl? I will attempt to do some Itachi soon. Thanks for the review and cookie :D

* * *

><p><strong>Alpenwolf: <strong>He does have an important part of the invasion so he pretty much had his fun and left.. and that also gave Naruto the chance to live! Yay! I need to get some good quotes in my room.. right now I just have lots of white. That may very well have an effect should they end up fighting again (who knows the fight may not happen? XD wink lol) but Naruto is known for his tricks so we'll see. Thanks for the review :D


	43. 4 My People

**A/N: Hmm.. writing from the bath tub.. I may have to do this more often XDD P.S the song is "4 My People" by Missy Elliott. **

* * *

><p><strong>Neji POV<strong>

Neji lay quietly in his bed, his mind racing as it went over the details of his last battle. Fighting Shinobu and the Uchiha had not been quite as he had imagined, he hadn't given the girl enough credit, she was indeed strong.

He had lost.

Now she lay in a deep sleep from the exhaustion in the nearby hospital bed, hair draped gently over her porcelain features. It was kind of odd, for lack of better terms, how she could take everything nerve grating and stereotypical about the Uchiha clan, from the smirk, scowl and "hn" to their facial features and onyx eyes, and make it beautiful.. inhuman.

"Hyuuga-sama!" One of the medical ninja called out, shaking him from his thoughts. Neji soon found himself focused on a quiet pair of voices outside of his room.

"Sorry, but.. could you leave us alone?"

"Aah.. yes."

"Ugh.. what do you want?" Neji groaned as he sat up, Shinobu had done a number on him, now whether he would later admit to it was another story.

"I came.. to tell you the truth of that day." Hiashi replied with a small frown.

"Truth?" _What does he mean the truth.. I already know what happened._

"That time, I fully intended to die." He spoke after a moment of silence, breaking eye contact as Neji processed the new information.

"What? What are you talking about? That time, my father was killed to take your place!" Neji shouted.

"The results may appear that way.. but that is not the truth." Hiashi sighed.

"What.. after all these years." Neji whispered, looking to his knees.

"I'm telling you after all these years because I thought you'd believe me now.."

* * *

><p><em>"There's no choice then, if my life will save the village.." Hiashi spoke solemnly, directly addressing the Hokage who simply 'hmm'd' in response. <em>

_"Hold on Hiashi.." One of the clan's elders spoke. "The advanced blood of the Hyuuga clan is a valuable trump card to this village. Protecting that has been the duty of the main family." _

_"But before that duty, if the village is drawn into a dangerous war." Hiashi reasoned._

_"I know.." The elder spoke with a frown. "That's why the branch family exists. We will hand over Hizashi's body in place of yours." _

_"What?" Hiashi spun, facing the elder in shock._

_"Hizashi has already agreed." The elder spoke._

_"But what they want is the secrets of the Byakugan's abilities.. with Hizashi, once he's killed, that ability will be sealed. I don't see the Cloud country being satisfied with that!" Hiashi argued._

_"Heh, that may be their true intention, but the demand from the Cloud was simple.. 'Hand over Hyuuga Hiashi's body'. If we act like we agree and hand over Hizashi's body, which is a duplicate of yours.. they won't be able to complain any further." The elder replied with a small smirk._

_"But.."_

_"Hiashi, the time has come. Each generation has protected the Hyuuga blood in this way. You must have the heart to let go of even a sibling to protect that blood. That is the destiny of the main family, and that's the destiny of those born as Hyuuga." The elder spoke._

_Hiashi growled inwardly, glaring at the floor while attempting to come up with a valid response._

_"What happened to the always confident Hiashi-sama?" Hizashi smiled. _

_"This is vastly different from anything in the past, I can't so easily.." Hiashi was cut off from a hit to the head. "Guh, Hizashi.. you.."_

_"Please.. let me go." _

_"Y..you have Neji.. why for the main family.. do you choose death?" Hiashi questioned from the floor._

_"That's incorrect. I have hated the main family.. honestly, I still do. That's why it's not for you as a member of the main family that I do this.. I want to die and save you as my brother. Doing that is the first time I have the freedom to choose." Hizashi explained quietly._

_"I.."_

_"I have only shown my ugly side to Neji.. Yet here, I finally understand my own will. So please, tell this to Neji. That I am not being killed to protect the main family. I am being killed to protect Neji, my brother, my family, and the entire village. I am choosing death with my own will."_

_"Choosing death.. is freedom?"_

_"Brother, I wanted just once, to disobey the Hyuuga destiny. I wanted to choose my own destiny.. that is all." _

* * *

><p>"This is the whole truth.." Hiashi finished.<p>

"Why should I believe a story like that? It seems like a convenient excuse created by the main family! After all these years..!" Neji shouted angrily.

"I thought you would say that.. that's why I waited, and told you now."

"Bah.."

"I wanted to, not as a member of the main family, but as Hizashi's brother.. wanted to tell you my younger brother's final words." Hiashi said, closing his eyes before slowly lowering himself to the floor and bowing. "Believe me."

"Please.. raise your head." Neji spoke, looking yet again to his knees before letting the tears stream down his cheeks.

_Father.. is a person's destiny a thing like a cloud flowing with an inescapable flow? Or can a person choose the flow he wishes? I still don't know the answer to this.. either way, the destination may be the same in the end. However, by choosing to live like the latter, a person can live and strive towards a goal and in this match I have finally understood that it's those who have that are truly strong._

_..and father, I have but one goal. I want to become stronger.. enough to not lose to anyone.. that's how I feel now._

Neji smiled, looking over to Shinobu who still slept soundly in her cot before glancing out the window.

"Father.. the bird's are flying freely today. They look so happy."

* * *

><p><strong>Hokage POV<strong>

_Genjutsu.. so the invasion has begun. The Hokage thought, turning to eye the Kazekage. This was his student.. and now they would fight. Life was paying him back for not taking this man out the first time. He would believe in his people, Konoha ninja were strong.. they have the will of fire. They would make it through this._

* * *

><p><strong>Neji POV<strong>

"Neji..." Shinobu groaned as she sat up.

"Hm..?" He replied, looking away from the window and the current match between Sasuke and Gaara.

"Why are you my friend..?" Shinobu asked after a moment's thought.

"Friend..? What do you mean?"

"Out of all the people in the village, you don't mind talking to me.. I consider you a friend.. but why?"

"You mean why do I talk to you?"

"Ya."

"It's simple.. you're interesting." Neji smirked, carefully watching her reactions, something seemed up.

"We're going to be invaded." She blurted out, eyeing him warily

"Wait.. what?" Neji asked, taken a back.

"Konoha is going to be invaded." Shinobu repeated, now intently staring at him.

"When, by who, where, who all knows?" Neji spoke quickly, shakily standing up from his cot.

"Sometime during Sasuke's fight or just after it, the Sound village and the Sand village and Hokage-sama and the anbu know.. that's it." She responded just as quickly, quickly grabbing gear and readying herself for another fight. A move he quickly copied.

"Have you given any form of warning to anyone out there now?" Neji spoke, still slightly alarmed that the chunin exams hadn't been cancelled all together.

"Hinata and Kiba both have some form of clue.. I told them to make sure they knew a quick way out of the arena in case of something because they spotted some of the anbu and neither of them are in any condition to fight." Shinobu explained, disregarding the medics who attempted to keep the two of them in the room as they both made their way to the competitor's balcony.

"How do you know this?" Neji asked, thankful the medics had healed them for the most part previously and he was able to keep up.

"Can I not explain now?" Shinobu asked after a moment earning a quick nod before the two found themselves leaning on shaking walls for support as a high pitched screech filled the air.

"Shit.. it's started. Change of plans, the other's are probably fighting or not in that area anymore. We should report to the people at the gates. They'll know where we should be." Shinobu gritted, moving at full speed to where she knew some of the guards were positioned. Neji could only follow and question how she had this information in the first place.

"Report! Giant serpents have appeared at the eastern leaf entrance! And approximately 100 sand nins have invaded the village!" A voice informed a group of ninja over a radio, Shinobu and Neji just managing to get close enough to hear as they reached the western gates.

"Alright, we need to send word to the commander of the east gate. Have all shinobi move out and assume their positions." A jonin ordered.

"Sir. Neji and I can go inform them at the eastern gate. We're fast enough." Shinobu offered quickly. _Not only does that give us something to do now, it puts us at the heart of the battle._

"Good, take this and hurry. From there follow the commander's orders." The jonin ordered after a brief, hesitant glance.

* * *

><p><strong>Sakura POV<strong>

"Sakura.. just stay like that for a minute while I even the odds a little bit, alright?" Kakashi grinned, taking out a sound ninja as Sakura sat in her seat, covering her head.

* * *

><p><strong>Kiba POV<strong>

"Do you think Shinobu knew something?" Kiba wondered out loud as he followed Hinata to the academy. They'd go to the safe spot by the Hokage monument and protect the people there, it also lessened the chance of them getting into a serious fight that Kiba wouldn't be able to keep up with.

"It seems so now. We'll have to ask her when this is over.. I hope she and Shino-kun are alright." Hinata whispered, stopping for a brief moment to talk to Iruka-sensei before moving to the back of the group of children and walking near Hanabi.

* * *

><p><strong>Neji POV<strong>

"Ibiki-san. We're here with news from the western gate, or rather radio headsets so you can talk with their commander. He told us we were under your order." Neji spoke quickly handing over the headset.

"Normally I wouldn't be taking genin on front lines but we have no choice right now." Ibiki gestured to the giant snake which had already managed to take a large chunk of the border wall down

"We can keep up sir, just tell us where to go." Shinobu nodded, wishing she could just go to fight without asking for direction but she didn't want to get in anyone's way.

"Just try to keep the snake from getting further into Konoha or damaging the area. We've already evacuated this area so there are no civilians but not too far from here they are still evacuating." Ibiki ordered and within a moment Neji and Shinobu were off.

"Byakugan!"

"Sharingan!"

Neji observed, flanking Shinobu as she took one of the snakes head on, taking in the damage of the surrounding area along with the number of nearby enemies and allies.

"Katon! Goukakyuu no jutsu!" Shinobu shot out, burning a large majority of the snakes tail before flipping forwards and catching the burnt skin with a kunai and ripping it off.

"Ibiki-san! Do we have any medics out here?" Neji called out after noticing the injuries of their allies, quickly countering an attack from a sound ninja with kaiten before hitting a pressure point in the ninja's neck, rendering him unconscious.

"No, they're up defending the hospital and the people we weren't able to move." Ibiki responded, moving another injured ally to the top of a building which was relatively safer than where he had been lying.

"I brought some medical supplies!" Shinobu shouted, turning to look at Ibiki before crying out as she was hit into a nearby building.

"Not helpful if your unconscious, pipsqueak. Do us all a favor and stay alive." A chunin grinned, having used his own body to cushion the blow.

"Got it, sorry." Shinobu replied quickly helping him up before moving to Neji's side. "Where are the injured?"

"Don't include those who are dead or in critical condition, basics and simple supplies won't help them and you'll be wasting your time." Another jonin shouted before attacking a group of sand ninja.

"Tell me the critical patients first. I may be able to stabilize them long enough to send a group to the hospital." Shinobu growled, watching Neji as he quickly scanned the area again before gesturing for Shinobu to follow him.

"It'll be alright." Shinobu spoke softly, immediately going towards the large wounds to help stop them from bleeding out.

"Uchiha-san.." The man, no, boy whispered weakly.

"His heart stopped.. move to the next one." Neji spoke, looking for another injured person they could help.

"No!" Shinobu glaring at him before quickly returning her attention to the boy. "Chakra pulse." She growled, pushing chakra from her finger tips into the man's chest, successfully re-starting his heart as she moved back to bandaging and healing what she could. "Neji, move him with the chunin Ibiki put on the roof."

_How did she learn that? Or where..?_

"Got it." Neji nodded, quickly but carefully moving the unconscious man before returning to find Shinobu had already lined up more people for him to move.

"If we get them all in the same area we can send the ninja who aren't gravely injured but who can no longer fight to the hospital and to get potential back up." Shinobu spoke, pausing to tie her hair back.

"Even with back up, we can't handle this, we need you two fighting." Ibiki growled.

"Ninpou summoning watch tower demolish-er jutsu!" A voice laughed.

"T-this jutsu.. I-it's..!" Ibiki shouted, shielding his eyes from the debris.

"Long time no see.. eh, Ibiki? Geez, is your body the only thing that grew up! I just can't stand to watch you, eh!" The voice practically grinned.

"Jiraiya-sama.." Ibiki whispered, stunned.

"By Jiraiya..! You mean, of the sannin?" Another chunin asked, panting from over exertion.

"Little chickadees! Open them small eyes of yours as wide as you can and take a really, really good look! Blessed be! It's the twilight zone of rampage! By Jiraiya, the ALIEN SAGE NINJA! All you snakes, frozen in your tracks but the glare of a frog!" Jiraiya spoke before his eyes narrowed towards the snakes.

_Who is this idiot._

"And that's why I always studied Tsunade-sama's teachings.. out of the three sannin.. she's the sane one." Shinobu grumbled.

"Where's the sandaime?" Jiraiya asked after a moment.

"He's at the test arena.." Ibiki replied.

"I see.."

_He seems to be taking things more serious now.. I wonder, why is that?_

* * *

><p>"Even if you defeat me here.. the leaf is crumbling as we speak. There are sand and sound ninja invading and there is nothing you can do."<p>

"Don't underestimate them.. The shinobi of this village are strong.. they all have the will of fire."

* * *

><p>"Hyuuga is the strongest in the leaf.. Do not forget that."<p>

* * *

><p>"Baika no jutsu!"<p>

* * *

><p>"My Body!"<p>

"Is this the beginning of the hidden Leaf's Shadow Bind no Jutsu? Hidden Leaf's Shadow Neck Bind no Jutsu!"

"Shinranshin no Jutsu(Mind-Body switch)!"

* * *

><p>"My body.. the poison gas.."<p>

"Don't move. I'm sending my bugs to draw the poison out."

"Father.."

* * *

><p>"Kuromaru, Go!"<p>

"Aroof!"

* * *

><p>"Neji..! That's the last of them, we need to get them to the hospital now. Jiraiya-sama is here, they don't need us."<p>

"Alright, let's move."

* * *

><p>"My existence will never be extinguished! It won't be extinguished! There is no way that I would let it disappear!..Do..Don't come any closer!"<p>

"The pain of being alone.. is not an easy one to bear.. your feelings... why is it.. that I can understand your pain? But I.. already have many people who are important to me now. I won't let you hurt those people who are important to me... even if you try to kill them.. I will stop you."

"Why.. why do you go so far for other people's sake?"

"They saved me from the hell of being alone.. Shinobu.. Iruka..Kakashi.. Sasuke.. Sakura.. They acknowledged my existence.. that's why they're all important to me."

* * *

><p>"The Leaf's shinobi are all protecting the village.. They all fight with their life! True strength is not in mastery of ninjutsu. I was never able to teach you.. When they are protecting something important. That's when a shinobi's true strength appears..."<p>

* * *

><p><strong>AN: .. now realizing I desperately need a beta. For those who put up with my lack of proof-reading and constant typo's I appreciate it. Before I post the sequel I will be editing all 50 chapters to fix things people have pointed out and I very much appreciate those people so thank you :D**

* * *

><p><strong>Detached000: <strong>Well I appreciate you taking the time for reviewing this :D I'm glad you enjoyed reading AND noticed that Sasuke wasn't actually there for that, no one else seemed to notice :P

* * *

><p><strong>nuk1014: <strong>Well holy reviews, I love constructive criticism and anything I can learn from so no, thank you. The fact that you continue to review means you're reading which hopefully means there are also some good points to my story for you. I actually know that Teme means "you" but for the sake of English speaking people it was translated to "bastard" for the English Naruto so it would make sense to them. Probably should add that to my little dictionary. *looks back* Psyche? Stupid typo.. must fix... O.O Teuchi? AAH... I can't believe I've had that wrong for so long thanks for pointing that one out! Hopefully the wait between updates won't be tooooo long :P thanks for the reviews :D

* * *

><p><strong>Alpenwolf: <strong>Everyone indeed :D unfortunately there isn't time for reactions yet. But there will be :D Too bad Sasuke wasn't there for the reveal though O.o hehehe. Thanks for another review :D

* * *

><p><strong>Mistress Persephone: <strong>I'll try my best, thank you :D

* * *

><p><strong>OrionRedde:<strong> LE GASP O.o? Glad you liked the fight so much, they always make me nervous because I'm not much of an action writer. Naruto is kind of like a brother to her so it seemed to fit :D thank you so much!

* * *

><p><strong>GaarasMyBoyzz:<strong> Itachi will appear very soon actually :D Sooner than I had originally intended. OREOS FTW :DD Haha, glad you liked it. Thank you for the review :D


	44. Sanctuary

**A/N: Alright.. I'm now into unplanned territory here. I have future events planned but they're most likely going to be in the sequel. Hope you can bear with me and my on-the-spot-ness. :D**

**The song is Sanctuary by Utada Hikaru.**

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobu POV<strong>

Wind passed through the desolate streets of Konoha, whistling past open windows and empty houses with a desperate cry. People began to gather towards the largest building in sight cloaked in black, their attire and expressions draining from the bright colour of the surrounding buildings.

The weather seemed to mimic the thoughts and feelings of the people, rain pouring down and thunder crashing as a small boy let out a heart wrenching sob.

"Konohamaru.." A man with a horizontal scar across his nose knelt down to comfort the boy.

"Ojii-san.." Shinobu whispered, frowning as her she felt a warmer liquid than the rain run down her cheeks.

* * *

><p><em>"Hokage-sama.. may I have a word?" Shinobu asked as she bowed.<em>

_"My.. you don't have to bow." He said with a chuckle and Shinobu looked up in shock. "Take a seat, I was finding this paperwork rather hard on the old hands anyway." He smiled at her. He reminds me of Ojii-san.. he's so nice.. his eyes even sparkle! She thought, refraining from letting her emotions show on her face._

_"Thank you.." She nodded before taking a seat._

_"So what is it you want young one?" He asked, his tone holding a love she rarely heard from strangers._

_"W-well.. I.." She stuttered, she hadn't expected to be able to see him so she didn't really prepare past the whole getting in stage. "I was i-informed that to register at the academy I would have to speak with you." She stammered._

_"You wish to join now? It's a little later than most." He mused._

_"I learn quick! I could still do it!" She almost shouted with wide eyes, thinking he was refusing her. She quickly realised she had shouted at one of the great Kages and stuttered an apology._

_"It's alright. I was just surprised, you haven't come with parents either. Are they at work?" He asked with a chuckle._

_"N-no.. they're dead.." She whispered._

_"Oh.. I'm sorry." His eyes showed true concern. "What is your name? May I ask?"_

_"Shinobu..." She responded, contemplating letting him know, she had decided against it earlier. But he seemed so trust worthy._

_"And your last name?" He asked, his eyes glinted with knowledge._

_"I um.. do I need to tell you?" She asked, unsure of his reactions._

_"Well.. no.. but it would be nice to know." He chuckled._

_"Shinobu Uchiha.." She muttered looking away. He looked dumbstruck for a moment before responding._

_"How is it that I don't know of you then? Sasuke was the only survivor.." He muttered more to himself._

_"I'm the daughter of Mikoto and Fugaku.. I believe they told you I died at birth.." She whispered, willing herself not to cry._

_"Hmm.. well I am sorry that I didn't meet you.. so you are Sasuke's twin sister? Younger in age if I recall correctly." He asked._

_"Yes sir. That's true, but he doesn't know that. Nobody knows except you sir." She replied, attempting to shake the tears out of her eyes._

_"Well, I apologize on behalf of the village.. that must have been terrible." He looked at her before coming around to give her a hug. She could feel warmth and love and shock. She hadn't expected this._

_"Thank you.. Ojii.. uh.. Hokage-sama." She stopped herself, she had almost called him grandpa._

_"You can call me Ojii-san if you'd like Shinobu. I don't mind, you wouldn't be the first." He replied with a heart warming smile. _

* * *

><p><em>"Shinobu.. are you alright?" A voice asked, startling Shinobu from her curled up position on the bed. She was in the Uchiha compound, in her brother's old bedroom to be more specific. The stuffed animals adorning his bed still smelled like him.<em>

_"Ya.. I.." She sighed, no, she wasn't ok._

_"I may be an old man but I'm not losing my mind or hearing quite yet. Would you like to talk about it?" He asked, waiting for her to nod before gently taking a seat beside her._

_"I.." She couldn't think of a single word to explain, instead, she burst into tears clinging to the man's robes. He didn't seem startled though, instead he sat there calmly pulling her into a small hug._

_"It's alright.. You know there's a person right here to embrace you.. But, it's not only me doing so.. Konoha's ninjas, they all have the will of fire. All the people in this village have a strong sense of protection, and all of us have this spirit, all of us are part of the same family. Shinobu.. you too have the same spirit. That's why you're never truly alone here. We are your family." _

_She sniffed looking up before letting out a small hiccup and smiling. "Right!"_

* * *

><p>"Iruka-sensei.." Naruto spoke quietly at first, shaking Shinobu from her thoughts. "What are humans..? Is life just that simple?"<p>

"When a person dies.. doesn't matter if it's the past, present or future- they will lose everything. He died fighting in a mission- death caught him unaware because life was that simple. It's like a dream, it's all the same even if you haven't reached your goal.. but everyone knows that the most important thing is to die for a cause." Iruka spoke, quickly drawing the attention of other ninja nearby who watched in silence.

"Family, friends, lovers, and all the other villagers- to me, those are the most important people... We trust each other, help each other.. from the day we are born to the day we die, we start to feel that love is the most important. That kind of relationship takes time to develop and trust. Anyone with a headband on knows.. because it's very important."

"Yeah.. I know that very well, but death is still painful." Naruto muttered.

"The Hokage wouldn't think it's painful," Kakashi interjected. "because we both agree that people should not be hurt for no reason.. but, it's no use, even if you do understand."

"Right..! But.. not knowing is better than knowing." Naruto said with a small grin.

"...he died for us. Right? It's sad.. but he died to protect the people he cared about.. so I don't think he'd be very happy if we wasted that.. We have to do our bests too, to make use of what he gave us. To rebuild Konoha and continue on the will of fire.. protecting our precious people." Shinobu spoke softly, looking at his picture before bowing slightly with a grin and running off.

_I will protect my precious people._

* * *

><p>"It's been a long time since your homecoming.. What do you think? Let's stop by before we do our search."<p>

"Yea.. That sounds good."

* * *

><p>The funeral was over but still Shinobu was on her feet next to her team as they worked alongside construction workers to help rebuild Konoha, or more specifically the academy right now. It was nostalgic, Shinobu had found some orange dyed wood near the collapsed entrance. She paused for just a moment as a voice filled the clearing.<p>

"I'll find Tsunade."

"Then we are sending you with anbu."

"Don't worry, I won't run away.. but I would like to take someone with me."

"And who would that be?"

"An interesting little seed I found.. Uzumaki Naruto."

_Naruto? What do they want with him? They're going to get Tsunade? Will she be the next Hokage?_

* * *

><p>"I heard this is where you go to all the time.. it's really true, you always come here to eat ramen." Jiraiya snorted, catching Naruto off guard and almost causing him to choke on the half swallowed ramen in his mouth.<p>

"Haa! It's the pervert Sannin!

* * *

><p>"It's been a while.. Asuma-san, Kurenai-san."<p>

"You already know of us.. you were originally from our village weren't you? What did you come back for?" Asuma asked with narrowed eyes, warily watching as the man pulled off his hat.

"Wait.. you are!" Kurenai whispered in astonishment.

"There's no doubt about it.. Uchiha Itachi."

"So you're already acquainted with Itachi huh.. Then I also need to introduce myself. Kisame Hoshigaki. There, we're all acquainted."

* * *

><p>Shinobu watched in shock as Kakashi fought her brother. Only she or Sasuke could beat him? Not only was he here, in their village, but he was after the fourth hokage's successor? Who would that be?<p>

"You're target is the Kyuubi inside of him isn't it?" Kakashi asked between pants, whatever genjutsu Itachi used, it had done a number on him.

"Naruto.. shit." Shinobu growled, taking one last look at her brother before darting away to find her only current family.

* * *

><p>"EHHH! WHY! WHY! WHY! Why do I have to go on a work trip with a pervert sannin? Why should I go? And what for?" Naruto shouted.<p>

"Because it's a paid-for work trip. We're supposed to find a certain girl. It's also a "special" trip. We'll stop by the red-light district in Hima. You'll learn much more than what Kakashi-sensei has to teach you." Jiraiya tried to bribe.

"I don't want to, I want Kakashi-sensei to teach me Chidori. Nope." Naruto rolled his eyes.

"And this woman is really hot! She wants to meet you!" Jiraiya grinned.

"You're trying to fool me you perverted sannin! Whatever you say! I DON'T WANT TO!" Naruto shouted.

"Ha.. I know a technique even more amazing than Chidori. But you're not coming- I guess I'll have Sasuke accompany me instead." Jiraiya said with a small frown, looking at Naruto from the corner of his eye.

"ALL RIGHT! Let's go!" Naruto shouted, pumping his fist.

"I'm going- I'm going to my house to pack my things up! Pervert sannin, don't leave without me!" Naruto yelled, running away as fast as he could to get to his house.

"Kuku.. really.. he is such a cute brat." Jiraiya chuckled.

"Let's focus a little less on how cute he is and a little more on the person standing right in front of you, hm?" Shinobu growled, finally having caught up with the two.

"Hmm, aah, you're the girl who was playing medic during the invasion under Ibiki." Jiraiya responded after taking a moment to think.

"I have a name, Jiraiya. It's Uchiha Shinobu, and I'm going with you on this mission." Shinobu glared.

"and I should let you why..?"

"Because.." Shinobu paused before remembering how Naruto had originally gotten the fool to train him, sexy-no-jutsu. "because Jiraiya-sama. You're one of the three great sannin, a young, innocent kunoichi like me could learn so much from a great, strong man like you! Pleeease?" She asked, putting on her best pout- learned from Naruto, and batting her eyelashes.

"Hehehe.. alright. The great Jiraiya-sama will train you too!" Jiraiya grinned.

"Bleh.. Is it true we're going to find Tsunade-sama?" Shinobu asked after Jiraiya finished his trance.

"Yup. Though you should go pack or we're leaving without you." Jiraiya nodded, trying to appear responsible.

"Already done." She smirked, gesturing to the small back pack on her shoulders.

"Now if only Naruto would act a little more like that." Jiraiya grumbled.

"Eh? Shinobu-chan! You gonna wish me a safe trip?" Naruto grinned once he caught up, missing Jiraiya's statement.

"Nope, I'm coming with you." Shinobu grinned.

"Awesome! Are you going to learnt he new jutsu too?" Naruto asked.

"No, she won't be. We're going to start her on something a little different." Jiraiya chuckled.

"If it involves bathing suits, you're dead." Shinobu warned causing Jiraiya to let out a sheepish laugh.

"I-it doesn't, swear." Jiraiya sweat dropped.

"Good. Now let's get moving.." Shinobu sighed. We need to get away from the village, before Itachi finds us.

* * *

><p>"You can fight how and where you want, but I don't know... The time is wrong." Kisame looked at Itachi.<p>

"Ah. To meet those two and kill them. It's a good place to fight. So they can't increase the number of people they have." Itachi muttered.

"It was good that we found him at the ramen shop. But he's protected by one of the three legendary ninjas. That guy might be a match for the number one of the leaf and one of the Mist's seven strongest."

"Ah, but.. it is said that every strong man has a weak point." Itachi replied.

* * *

><p>"That guy still hasn't found Naruto." Gay frowned.<p>

"But it's not funny that he enters a crowded village. In this village, finding Naruto is pretty simple. Itachi knows Naruto's face." Asuma replied, none too happy with the idea.

"Shhh!" Gai warned.

"Kakashi..? ...!" Sasuke stared in shock when he entered the room, Kakashi unconscious on the bed. "Why is Kakashi sleeping? Why are the Jonin all gathered here where he's resting?" Sasuke asked, eyes narrowed.

"Umm.. no it's not really that.. it's" Gai started before the door slammed open, a new ninja entering the room.

"Is the story that Itachi has returned really true? And he's chasing after Naruto?" The ninja shouted before noticing Sasuke. "Ah!"

"Argh.. idiot.." Gai groaned, face-palming as Sasuke darted out of the room.

_Itachi has returned!_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So close to being done. 6 chapters. O.o. Hope you guys are enjoying this. :D**

* * *

><p><strong>TnTKitten: <strong>Well thank you for reviewing :D I'm glad you like it! :D

* * *

><p><strong>yyh-ygo-fma:<strong> Well holy reviews batman :D I'm definitely considering SasukeXShinobu, your point was really good, but we'll have to see where the story takes us, neh? Thanks for all of the reviews and input, I really appreciate it :D

* * *

><p><strong>Yami Mizuna: <strong>I didn't skip it lmfao :D and I'm not skipping it. There will be lots more Itachi, promise. :D Thanks for the input :D

**GaaraMyBoyzz: **Well actually, neither of those places are where they meet. But you'll be seeing very VERY soon. :D She actually does like Dango, though I believe she got that taste from spending so much time with Anko :P thanks for the input :D P.S Fangirlyness can be a good thing :P

* * *

><p><strong>chibichibi98:<strong> Well I'm glad that you caught my foreshadow :P Tsunade actually teaches Ino AND Hinata as well in canon, though not to the degree in which she taught Sakura. I'm still wavering on whether or not Shinobu should train with the girls on this one. But we'll see :D I also agree with you in that Hinata would have done great given more attention training under Tsunade, so I may have that in my story :P Thanks for the input! :D

* * *

><p><strong>Alpenwolf: <strong>Well some of these things are being answered sooner than later :P As in above with Shinobu and Naruto. I actually wanted Hiruzen to live but something told me that even with the knowledge of the invasion he would simply make sure the village is safe without scaring anyone. I couldn't come up with a way to let him live and have it be realistic still. I looked up the song and I'll probably be using it sometime in the near future :D Thanks for the song and review :D


	45. All Messed Up

**A/N: .. unknown territory makes my brain hurt. The song is all messed up by sum41**

* * *

><p>"What a strange town.." Naruto murmured, looking around at all of the buildings and bustling people. Shinobu following just a step behind in silence.<p>

"Naruto, Shinobu, today we're staying here." Jiraiya nodded to himself, holding up to sets of keys into their hotel room. Shinobu prepared to take it until she realized both boys were no longer mentally with her.

"Aaaah!" They both grinned in unison causing Shinobu to take a step away, as if she didn't know the two. About three feet away was a beautiful woman and to say they were both looking would be an understatement. Gawking or drooling would have been a more appropriate term.

"Naruto!" Jiraiya grinned.

"Huh?" He asked, eyes not drifting from the woman.

"Here's the room key! Go up to your room and refine your chakra as training! Shinobu can watch to judge how well you're doing!"

"WHAAT? NO FAIR!" Naruto whined, crossing his arms.

"Yes fair." Shinobu sighed, grabbing his collar before dragging him away. "We definitely don't want to be there."

* * *

><p>"What is this..? What is this?" Naruto hmmph'd from his spot sitting on the bed.<p>

"Don't complain, Naru." Shinobu sighed, though she agreed.

"But this sort of thing is always happening with Pervert sannin! My training? Right! I can see what he really had in mind." He whined in time for a loud knock on the door. "See? He's already been rejected and is coming back."

"Just keep to your training, I'll get it." Shinobu replied, eyebrow twitching as the knocks grew louder.

"It's hard to concentrate when they're being so noisy. WE HEAR YOU! SHUT UP ALREADY!" Naruto shouted.

"Naruto! That's rude!" Shinobu scolded, fiddling with the lock.

"Jira-..." Shinobu stared wide eyed at the man standing in the doorway. _Itachi.. How did he find us so quickly?_

"Neh neh, this kid kinda looks like you, Itachi." An older man with blue skin chuckled.

"Hn."

"So girly, do you know where the Naruto kid is?" He asked.

"Not here, sorry. He left with that stupid white haired perv. Something about teaching him the ropes." Shinobu quickly collected herself and gave them a small glare before scoffing and rolling her eyes.

"Don't lie to me. It didn't work for him.. it won't work for you." Itachi stated simple, flicking Shinobu in the forehead and sending her stumbling backwards into the room. The door swung open behind he leaving a confused Naruto in the open for all to see.

"Che, we don't want them running around on us.. maybe I could just cut off a leg or two each?" The fish-like grinned.

"W-what's going on?" Naruto finally spoke up.

"Naruto.. we'd like you to come with us." Itachi spoke calmly. "Come out of the room."

"Don't move.." Shinobu ordered, glaring at the man as she backed him out of the doorway and into the hall, away from Naruto.

"Well isn't this a cute little family re-union." Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"What.. you.. you knew?" Shinobu whispered, but he didn't respond. Instead looking past her before speaking.

"It's been a while.. Sasuke."

"Uchiha.. Itachi.." Sasuke growled.

"Eh..?" Naruto whispered in shock looking back and forth between the three.

"Hey, hey indeed! Today is a special day, don't you think? This is the second time I've seen another Sharingan." Kisame grinned.

"I will.. KILL YOU!" Sasuke shouted, eyes flaring.

_Once they were an older brother and younger brother to each other.. now all that's left is hate._

"The same name as Sasuke and Shinobu.. Uchiha.." Naruto muttered to himself.

"Hou.. Sharingan.. he seems to be familiar with you Itachi. Who is this guy?" The man asked.

"Don't you go near either of them." Shinobu glared cutting them both off before activating her own Sharingan.

"Three?" The man asked looking shocked.

"He.. is my younger brother." Itachi stated before turning to the glaring girl. "and she.. is his twin sister. Our younger sister."

"I heard the entire Uchiha clan was wiped out.." Kisame muttered. "..by you."

Naruto's eyes hardened as he watched. _He was the one Sasuke was talking about during introductions.. the one who kills Shinobu's family. He caused their pain._

"Gyaaah!" The two twins screeched in joint pain.

"What?"

"Heh.. Itachi's genjutsu." The blue man smirked.

* * *

><p><strong>Sasuke POV<strong>

"Aa.. AAAAGH!" Sasuke screamed clutching his head, the images of his mother and father slaughtered played before his very eyes.

"..Why... did you brother...?.." Sasuke's seven year old self whimpered.

"They were just a measuring stick to test myself." Itachi stated, Sharingan still activated as he looked down on the collapsed, crying boy.

"A measuring stick..? That's why.." Sasuke paused. ".. That's why you did it.. you killed everyone.. everyone! For that?" Sasuke cried out in disbelief.

"It was very important for me to do so." Itachi spoke again in only monotone.

"What for.. that is.. that's.. JUST BULL SHIT!" Sasuke screeched, darting forward around his now dead parents to attack only to double over as a fist contacted with his stomach.

Collapsing to the ground his eyes widened as he came face to face with his father. _I'm scared.._ Tears trickled down his cheeks. _I'm scared!_

"Uwaah! Don't kill me!" Sasuke darted away from his parents, his brother and out the door in a desperate attempt for escape.

"You're not even worth killing.. foolish little brother.." Itachi spoke. "If you want to kill me.. live miserably. Hate me. Survive through the ugliness!..run..run... learn to survive.."

* * *

><p>"I've been wanting to say this to you.. I've lived hating you.. I've lived only to kill you!" Sasuke growled, electricity sparking the air around him. "I've lived for this!"<p>

"Chidori?" Itachi murmured as Sasuke charged, more than prepared to stop the attack.

"Gyaah!" Shinobu cried out clutching her head, genjutsu still more than active. Itachi turned around in slight shock. He had expected them both to pass out.. Sasuke was out of the jutsu and Shinobu was still up and fighting it. He winced, a pain grazing his shoulder. "Shit.. I got distracted." He muttered, grabbing Sasuke's wrist, so had he apparently.

"I need to do something." Naruto muttered before quickly gathering chakra.

"This bastard.." Sasuke growled.

"You're in the way." He looked him in the eye for a minute before quickly snapping it causing an ear shattering scream of pain and throwing the boy down the hall.

"Ninpou! Kuchise no-"

"Too late." Kisame grinned as he dragged his blade through the air near Naruto.

"Huh?" Naruto growled. "Crap.. crap! What's going on I don't feel on chakra!" He shouted.

"My 'Samehada' .. eats up chakra!" Kisame grinned. "Now that your jutsu is gone.. you shouldn't be anymore trouble. First of all.. should I chop of an arm or cut off your leg?"

Naruto's eyes widened before he squeezed them shut concentrating fully on a jutsu to save him, Sasuke and Shinobu no help.. one wincing in pain on the floor the other off in another world altogether. But as Samehada came down it wasn't the sound of blade tearing skin, but rather blade to armor.

"You don't seem to know very much about me..." Jiraiya smirked, a large frog in front of Naruto and the woman from early unconscious on his shoulder. "I'm better at getting girls than they are at trying to get me. Even though it doesn't look like it.. it's my specialty." He grinned before going into an all too familiar pose that had Naruto biting his lip to avoid groaning.

"I, Jiraiya, the epitome of manliness! I will fall for no woman's wiles! When you're someone like me, you'll only have to flash that sexiness to have women fall at your feet!" He grinned at his own introduction.

"don't say anything Naruto.. it's not worth it Naruto.." Naruto mumbled to himself before chancing a glance at his sensei. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" He snapped. "That girl just winked at you and you went scampering after her! And now you're trying to look all cool and classy! You pervert-sannin!"

"Hey! Can't you stop calling me that in front of others?" Jiraiya pouted.

"Screw that! It's those guys over there we should be worrying about! Pervy sannin!"

"Hehe.. so it's Jiraiya.. one of the three legendary sannin then?" Kisame smirked. "You like beautiful women but we didn't expect such a simple method to stall you anyway.. it seems you've already undone the genjutsu binding the woman."

"You guys wanted to draw me away so you used the Sharingan to cast a genjutsu on this woman, huh? Not a very manly way of doing things." Jiraiya spoke as he set said female down against the wall. "So you really are after Naruto.." He frowned.

"No wonder Kakashi knew about this.. you were the source of information." Itachi spoke calmly, sparing a glance at his siblings. "'To abduct Naruto' .. Those were the orders given to us by the higher echelons of our organization. 'The Akatsuki'."

"You two won't get Naruto.." Jiraiya said slowly.

"And why not?"

"Because right now.. right here, you two will die by my hand." Jiraiya frowned.

"Don't.. do it." A voice groaned. "This guy.. IS MINE!" Sasuke growled, shakily standing up.

"I have absolutely no interest in you right now." Itachi replied plainly before kicking Sasuke down into the wall at the end of the hall.

"You assholes!" Naruto shouted, making a move to go forward and attack.

"Naruto! I told you, don't!" Sasuke shouted. "This fight is mine!" He growled, a dark bruise like mark slowly making it's way down Sasuke's arms and neck.

"When did he meet Orochimaru..? There hasn't been a chance.. the last time would be the invasion but Sasuke was fighting Gaara..!" Jiraiya growled to himself.

"Orochimaru's seal.." Shinobu whimpered, staggering as she finally caught on to what was going on around her. "Why.. why would he give it to you?" She shouted.

"Come on!" Sasuke yelled, ignoring Shinobu all together as Itachi moved forward.

"FUCK NO." She growled, darting forward and around Itachi before slamming Sasuke into the wall. "When-did-he-give-you-that?" Shinobu spat.

"What the hell is it to you? Get out of my way!" Sasuke spat back just as ferociously.

"HE WOULDN'T EVEN GIVE ME THAT DAMNED SEAL AND YOU GOT IT! TELL ME WHEN _nii-san._" She hissed watching his eyes widen. _Had he not heard Itachi say it before?_

"Got it just before the invasion.." He muttered, eyeing her.

"He thinks you're better than me too then! Fuck Itachi, I'll kill you myself." She growled her eyes shining a violent red as she stared her brother down.

"Shinobu-chan.." Naruto whispered.

"Er.. what's going on.." Kisame asked, eyebrow raised.

It only took a moment before Shinobu had Sasuke on his stomach, facing the ground with a kunai to his neck. Adrenaline and anger helping her a fair bit.

"Imouto.." Itachi spoke slowly, watching the two, and quickly earning a glare before the girl in question watched Itachi in shock.

"What did you.." Sasuke asked slowly.

* * *

><p><strong>Itachi POV<strong>

_"Please, Fugaku. You could train her to be strong.." Itachi listened to his mother and father bicker. They were planning to rid the family of his younger sister?_

_"Make her stronger than their sons..?" He paused and Itachi was tempted to go offer to help train her himself."And what if she failed us? Then we'd be the failures.. we'd become the weakest family. I will not be labeled as weak, nor will I tarnish Itachi with weak siblings." He finalized._

_Itachi stood in the hall way with wide eyes, mind reeling with information. __He had known that he was going to have a sibling.. a brother as his father promised. He couldn't wait to have a baby brother.. to train with, to take care of, to show off to. He would sometimes imagine a sister and smile but knew it wasn't going to happen because his father said so. Why was his father so against having both the twins? A girl and a boy.. it would be perfect. He didn't understand. Then again, who could understand the antics and thoughts of a person who could not understand themselves. The young boy went back to his room quickly before his father saw him._

_The scene before him quickly changed to a small way later. _

_"I'm in a genjutsu.." Itachi paused after a moment, he hadn't expected her to be able to and was almost tempted to break it but instead stayed to see where this accidental jutsu would take him._

_He was walking down a dark ally way, after just witnessing his mother run off. He hid behind a garbage can as she left the ally. A small cry echoed off the surrounding buildings. His mother named her Shinobu.. endurance. _

_"Imouto-chan.." He whispered looking at the onyx eyed baby in awe before gently picking her up and cradling her in his arms, smiling as the child stopped crying to clutch at his fingers. _

_It seemed as if only seconds had passed before Itachi noticed the sun rising._

_"I need to go.." He sighed. "Imouto.. I can't come back, but become strong alright? Join the academy and give Sasuke a run for his money. Show him you can be strong. I believe in you."_

_With that the baby dissolved from his arms leaving him feeling oddly empty as a familiar scene came before him. His little brother trying to get him to play in a field, a faded outline of a girl playing behind him. _

* * *

><p>"You can't keep me trapped in a genjutsu like that.." Itachi finally spoke, deciding to break the genjutsu.<p>

"Not like I meant to.." Shinobu muttered more to herself, still slightly awed.

"As fun as this little reunion was.. you're now wasting my time." Itachi said, calmly walking towards them.

_Then the world went black._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So there we have it, we've learned some new things and re-lived some old stuff.**

* * *

><p><strong>Bird of the <strong>**Flames: **Glad you like it so much :D I'll try my best

* * *

><p><strong>Sango higorashi: <strong>That's a lot yup :D Though that's not saying much, almost anything is better than doing theory.

* * *

><p><strong>Alpenwolf: <strong>Hehe, I went and fixed that the moment I read the review :P It was meant to read "her brother fought Kakashi" Though Kakashi being a sibling could be an easy misunderstanding. I wonder if anyone's ever tried that in a fic? Ya.. Hiruzen living does not make for good plot-age. I agree there :P thanks for the review!

* * *

><p><strong>Yami Mizuna: <strong>Look! More Itachi! :P

* * *

><p><strong>yyh-ygo-fma: <strong>hehe, idiot yup. I completely get it XD I've done the same thing multiple times. Thanks for the review. And yup, no guaruntees because I have good reasoning for all of them but I may end up putting it up for vote :P

* * *

><p><strong>TNTkitten: <strong>:D I'd try but it can be difficult sometimes :P Especially since I have multiple stories on the go. I SHOULD

* * *

><p><strong>GaarasMyBoyzz:<strong> Hehehe, well the above isn't glimpses :P Believe me, he shows more :D thanks for the cookies though! Here's a chocolate chip one for the review (;'.)


	46. Gambler

**A/N: So school is out now and beside the constant cosplay planning and building (I've got a lot of cosplays on my plate) and my overpacked work schedule I have a fair amount of free time so hopefully these updates will speed up.. but knowing me they may not ;D I'll try. Song is gambler by kenny rogers, take from it what you will.**

**Edit: Talk about not, sorry guys but working 35-45 hours a week plus 25 hours a week of volunteer work is running me dry. I swear I try.**

* * *

><p><strong><strong>Epicweaver: <strong>**While this is a response specifically to this user (despite the fact I know they probably won't read it) I feel the need to address these concerns so everyone knows what's going on. First of all, everything in the** beginning is COMPLETELY thought out**. I know some of you non-ninja folk haven't learned this underneath the underneath stuff but believe me the story will pull together in the end. I appreciate reviews but comments about this are unneeded as I've already considered most if not all things that may 'appear' wrong with this scenario thus far. The other thing I felt the need to address are those who are complaining because the story is based around an OC. My summary clearly states that **this is about Sasuke's twin sister** and her effect on the story line. I in **no way have implied that this story centres on any of the canon characters** although they are obviously a big part of the story. If you dislike my story fully for something I have clearly stated please don't flame. I have matches to light fires for my marshmallows and am in no need of flames for that reason (all other flames are welcome as they tend to actually help me.)

* * *

><p>"AII! Im-impossible! That money..!" A woman screeched with wide eyes.<p>

"We're borrowing it!" _I bear the word "kake" on my back. I.. am princess Tsunade. _"Yeah! With this we can overturn every defeat!"

* * *

><p>"Jiraiya-sama.. please find Tsunade-sama.." Gai spoke solemnly, Sasuke hanging limp from his shoulders while Shinobu was in his arms bridal style.<p>

"Don'tcha worry, we'll find her! Take care of Sasuke and Shinobu, Mr. Thick-Brows!" Naruto grinned.

"Well Gai.. we'll be leaving them in your care."

"Naruto..! You've got guts; I like kids like that! Here, I'm giving this to you!" Gai grinned, managing to give Naruto a thumbs up. "This is the reason why Lee is so strong!"

"Eh? What? What!" Naruto grinned, watching Gai excitedly.

"This!" Gai grinned, holding out what appeared to be a giant, floppy, green spaghetti noodle. It took about two seconds for Jiraiya to realize that it was Gai's infamous outfit.

"It's the ultimate, stream-lined, form-fitting, easily-accessible, perfectly-made bodysuit! Wear it while training and you'll _know _ the difference! You'll never look back!" Gai grinned all the while shaking the noodle like jumpsuit.

"Our Lee wears it 24/7 and of course, it is my most beloved piece of ninja must-have!" Gai grinned, handing it over.

"Coool!" Naruto grinned, jumping up and down.

"If you can walk around carrying that, why not carry a mirror instead... sheesh." Jiraiya grumbled under his breath.

"You.. you're not gonna walk around in that that thing, are you..?" Jiraiya asked as Gai walked away, waving over his shoulder.

"It fits me, doesn't it?"

"Don't.. Naruto, look at that *thing* you're holding, it's a fashion faux pas."

* * *

><p>"Eeeek! This.. This is the most expensive gambling den around!"<p>

"Pipe down will you? Let's go." A woman with two blond pigtails spoke before entering the den, her fear struck apprentice quickly following behind her.

"Hm..? T-that's!" A man thought, sitting among a circle of more gamblers.

* * *

><p>"Okaay! Let's hurry up and find this Tsunade person! She'll fix Sasuke, and we can finally start training!"<p>

"Heh.." _Now that's Naruto for ya._

"Is this 'Super babe' you were talking about before.. Tsunade?" Naruto asked after a moment's pause.

"Oh, you've gotten sharper already! Yup, it's her alright. What about it?"

"Is she one of the ones, along with you, that people call the 'three legendary sannin'?" Naruto asked after another pause.

"Yeah, so?" Jiraiya asked, confusion apparent in his expression.

"How old is she?" Naruto frowned.

"My age.." Jiraiya sighed.

"She's OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLD then." Naruto whined.

"Gee thanks.." Jiraiya rolled his eyes.

"So what's Tsunade like?" Naruto asked, ignoring his comment.

"Hm, you interested? Well, she's kind of annoying. She's a compulsive gambler, and well known in a lot of countries..."

"Well she'll be pretty easy to find if she's so famous!"

"Oh yeah, she's famous alright. She's known as the legendary.."

* * *

><p>"I want to turn all of this money into chips." The blond haired woman grinned.<p>

"This, this person.."

"What? Who is this person?"

"You.. don'tcha know? This person has a nickname."

"Nickname?"

"The legendary.."

"The legendary?"

"The legendary sucker!"

* * *

><p>"She had the name 'sucker' since a long time ago. Back then, she would always borrow money and then run away afterwards. Aaah, those were the days." Jiraiya grinned.<p>

"You miss those days?" Naruto asked, dumbfounded. "Well how are we gonna find her then?"

"Since we're going by foot, there's all ways of doing it."

"Eeeeeeeeeeh? That means we don't know how long it's gonna take..!"

"We don't have much time to spare." Jiraiya continued on as if Naruto hadn't said anything. "We'll be spending most of our time on our journey on you!"

"On me?"

"We're gonna power you up! It's training time!" Jiraiya grinned. Naruto grinned before quickly pulling off his backpack and rummaging through it.

"I'm ready!" He shouted, while Jiraiya deadpanned at the noodle in his hands.

"No no... You are not wearing that.. I ain't gonna be seen dead in the company of someone wearing that.." Jiraiya muttered.

* * *

><p>"Itach-!" Shinobu shot up in her hospital bed, violently looking around only to spot her brother in an unconscious realm in the bed beside her. "..w-what...?"<p>

"So you're finally awake." Shinobu turned to the source of the voice, her jaw going slack as she looked at the figure sitting lazily in the chair near her.

"Shikamaru?" She asked, looking at him in confusion.

"You know.. we used to be really good friends. Why weren't you just honest with us? With me? We could have helped you, you know." Shikamaru sighed.

"I did tell Naruto.." Shinobu mumbled half heartedly.

"Yes.. but we were there too." Shikamaru replied, leaning forward. "We're your friends too and is troublesome as this may be we're here for you.. whenever you need us." Shinobu stayed silently, looking at her hands in her lap as she thought.

"Did Ino ever tell you?" Shinobu asked, looking up after some mental debate and a bit of hesitation. Shikamaru shook his head.

"Your match was before mine.. so you went to the medic area before.. you didn't see me." Shinobu explained. "Shika.. I'm a girl." She said, letting the genjutsu that clung to her like a second skin peel away.

"I knew.. but.. why can't you just prove that girls are strong and act as a girl?" Shikamaru asked.

"I originally only did it so I wouldn't be doing flower arrangements in the academy.. but I never dropped it after that." Shinobu explained, rolling her shoulders and wincing as they cracked. "How long have I been out for?" She asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"Three or four days?" Shikamaru guessed, while he wasn't sure when she had been brought here he had been visiting for a short time ever since Ino had mentioned Sasuke and the whole incident.

"So they continued the mission without me.. great." Shinobu scowled.

"What?" Shikamaru asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Well I was supposed to be training with Naruto and Jiraiya but they left and that pretty much destroyed my chance of learning from Tsunade. I can't even keep up with Sasuke anymore." She frowned.

"Why don't you come and train with Ino, Choji and I? I'm sure Asuma won't mind and chances are you'll end up getting barbecue out of the whole deal." Shikamaru smiled.

"Deal, but I need to check that I'm allowed to leave first." Shinobu explained, letting the genjutsu take over her features as she grabbed her clothes from the stand near her bed and changed from the hospital garb the nurses had put her in.

"Let's go." She grinned before letting her facial features slip into that all too natural smirk.

"That still weirds me out.." Shikamaru sighed.

"What, the fact that my genjutsu is amazing or the fact that I have more muscle than you?" Shinobu grinned the challenge as she bit back a laugh.

"You know I'm too lazy to ever take you up on that." He chuckled.

"I know but it never hurts to try." Shinobu shrugged before approaching the nurse scribbling something at the counter in the nurse's station. "Ahem." She coughed, trying to get the girl's attention.

"Oh, Shinobu-san, right?" The girl asked, a little startled as she looked up.

"Yes."

"How may I help you..?" She sighed slightly, putting the pen in her hand behind her ear.

"I was just wondering if I'm good to go. I feel fine and I would kind of like to spend some time with my friends." Shinobu worded carefully, eyeing the girl's reactions.

"As long as you're not doing anything too strenuous.. you should be good." The girl smiled softly.

"Nope, I think we're just going to go eat barbecue." Shinobu smirked only to feel her cheeks split into a grin as the girl blushed. _Did she not get the memo I'm a girl or is she embarrassed? _Shinobu laughed to herself in her head.

"Alright, sign here and you're free to go. Come back and check with us if you notice anything strange." The girl smiled, sliding a paper across the counter which Shinobu quickly signed before nodding and dragging Shikamaru out of the building.

"You lied?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow lazily.

"You didn't stop me." Shinobu pointed out with an equally lazy shrug.

"Point taken." Shikamaru shook his head with a light chuckle, lifting his arms and leaning his head back as he walked towards a small decorated flower shop.

* * *

><p><strong>Short but there's more to come :D Hope you all enjoyed and feel free to give feedback, likes, dislikes and suggestions. If you want to see something, let me know because it could very well make it into the story. :D (For example the extra Itachi was to appease a few Itachi fans here :P)<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>emokid9618: <strong>Heh, thank you so much. I try my best and hopefully the bit that we're running through won't disappoint despite not having much outline yet. Thanks for the review :D

* * *

><p><strong>riddelable: <strong>You're not the first to make this comment but I hope unlike the other person you'll see through this until later on and realize why I wrote it as it did because I did do it for a reason and with everything in your review in mind from the beginning. Thank you for the review :D

* * *

><p><strong>ILOVEANIME123: <strong>There isn't a sequel as of yet because this part isn't over but when this section of the story is done (I'll make it clear in the A/N when it is) I will definitely be posting a sequel or 'second arch'. Thanks for the review :P

* * *

><p><strong>nyanonomous: <strong>1. I love your name 2. Thank you so much I'm glad you enjoyed it so far :D

* * *

><p><strong>Luzbel de la Guerra: <strong>Well you're definitely a new name to me.. that or I have the memory of a goldfish, no guarantees either way :P thank you for the review and I'm glad you think it's believable xD *fist pumps at self-success* :P I am actually the largest Tayuya fan and had originally planned on making her my first cosplay. She will most definitely make one (if not several) appearances through out this story in the later chapters. I have to say your reaction to the Shinobu/Sasuke pairing made me smile a bit. I'm not all that fond of the pairing myself but have made a promise to all readers that I will consider all pairings. Honestly, since the pairing isn't especially important to the plot line as of yet, I think I'm just going to start bringing it up sooner to the chapters where it will come into play and follow the readers. So far there's only one reader who is for Shinobu/Sasuke as a pairing so I don't think you have much to worry about. It'll most likely be majority rules type of deal :P Thank you for the cookies and peace offering XD I will eat them now as I work on more chapters XDDDDD

* * *

><p><strong>Shadow Realm Triforce: <strong>Agreed on that one. I am definitely trying to bring out some of the flaws in Shinobu which will most likely result in angst :P Voting seems to work well with my stories :P Thanks for the review :DD

* * *

><p><strong>OrionRedde:<strong> I take it the inner fan has been appeased? :P

* * *

><p><strong>Alpenwolf: <strong>That she does, I hope it wasn't overplayed but I thought that with loosing her family for what she sees as not being good enough and then losing to her brother all of the time without him realizing they're related, that one thing would probably cause a bit of a break down :P I think Itachi snapped her out of it but the raw anger was channelled to jump start an accidental genjutsu resulting in Itachi's short term capture :P Thank you for the reviews :D

* * *

><p><strong>GaarasMyBoyzz:<strong> Yay :D Not quite soon.. but it's an update? :P


End file.
